American womenswear designer and 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Kate Barton is known for pieces that fool the eye with unconventional materials and silhouettes. When you Google her name, “goldfish bag” is among the top suggested terms, and her silk dresses, when photographed, often look as though they are cast in metal. Her fantastical work has been worn by Beyoncé and Katy Perry and spotted in Emily in Paris.
With her work pushing expectations of form, Barton makes an ideal partner for Syky, the digital fashion startup aiming to bridge the gap between traditional, physical fashion and digital design. “Her stuff is very experimental and futuristic-looking, but also very wearable in a weird way,” says Syky artistic director Nicola Formichetti, who has been tasked with sourcing artistic collaborators whose communities and aesthetics lend themselves to the type of futuristic pitch that Syky is making: our lives will be increasingly lived online, and our personas will need something to wear.
