Katrina Tuttle is sew young

On a foggy April evening, surrounded by Drew Klassen’s lush
rainforest-inspired paintings, a small group of guests sits in rows
inside Gallery Page and Strange, intimately lining both sides of a
floor-height runway. It’s the perfect way to take in all the delightful
details and surprises from Katrina Tuttle’s ambitious 2009 fall
collection.

Shying away from “girly-girl” embellishments, Tuttle, who happily
lives and works in Halifax, loves to mix classic lines and vintage
fabrics with contemporary, trendy styles. Fuelled by everyday
observations and a sharp photographer’s eye, Tuttle’s clothing is a
reflection of her own life and personality. The fall collection draws
on the natural world, with brilliant shades of fall foliage in raw
silks, mixed with elegant wools in clean lines. Fabric pleating in a
front-loading washing machine inspired Tuttle’s bubble skirts,
structured with layers of dramatic folds and topped with oversized,
almost-industrial buttons. “It was 11:30 at night, and I thought, “Oh,
that‘s a dress. That‘s a skirt,'” says Tuttle. “Most of
my inspiration is raw. I sketch nothing. I just see something and/or
buy fabric and I’ll know it’s going to be that. Or I’ll start something
and it won’t quite work out the same.”

The 20-year-old self-taught designer fell in love with making
clothes at age six, sewing on her grandmother’s machine. “We’d use
Popsicle sticks for boning; sew lace on everything, on velour. I did a
lot of other things, but nothing that’s as ‘wow’ as this is. This
completes me.”

Silk dress, $138, Sweat Pea Boutique, 1542 Queen, 423-0975. Paired with bangles, Joanne David Accessories, $22-$36, 1276 Barrington, 404-1276.

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This article appears in May 14-20, 2009.