SPOTLIGHT ON KATE BARTON
- BY KRISTOPHER FRASER
- 9 SEPTEMBER 2025
- 4 Min
People: Kate Barton, Photo: Courtesy of Kate Barton
New York Fashion Week is on the horizon, and the fashion calendar is out with the usual slate of marquee designers and brands, including Michael Kors, Calvin Klein Collection, Coach, and Tory Burch. New York Fashion Week is also a playground for many emerging designers and brands, including L’Enchanteur, Ashlyn, and Theophilio. Among the standout designers on the calendar this season is Kate Barton.
Barton founded her brand in 2021, and since then, she has grown her business into one of the most-watched independent labels in New York City. In 2024, she became a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and this year she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Post-2021 has been an exceptionally challenging time for young designers, with supply chain issues following the global COVID-19 lockdown and the Trump tariffs affecting the cost of fabric and other materials. Nevertheless, Barton has managed to persevere.
Her business primarily focuses on direct-to-consumer sales, but her collections have also been sold on the luxury e-commerce platform Moda Operandi. Barton’s design philosophy centers on avant-garde techniques, including shape engineering and draping methods to play with form. This has resulted in statement-making pieces, including a liquid-draped mini skirt, a draped merino cashmere knit sweater, and cowl-neck tops.
Kate Barton Spring Summer 2023, Photo: Courtesy of Kate Barton
In 2021, Barton received the Red Dot Award, an honor presented by the Red Dot Organization, which recognizes those who distinguish business activity through design. The Red Dot is one of the most sought-after seals signifying quality design. Barton designed a capsule collection of sculptural dresses featuring her signature architectural and sculptural elements. For this collection, acrylic thermoforming used laser-cutting technology and heat to mold lightweight sculptural forms that retained their complex shapes. The collection was an ode to fashion and technology.
Although Barton’s line has only been operational for five years, the industry has had its eyes on her since college. In 2020, Barton graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and she began receiving accolades right away, including Milan’s Mittelmoda Innovation Award and the Council of Fashion Designers of America Top Graduate Showcase.
Barton has evolved the aesthetic of her design DNA to include glass and metal, and she has been growing her accessories business with signature pieces including her floating rose bag, sculpted shard glass bag, and mirror-molded bag. Come New York Fashion Week, Barton will remain one to watch, with a highly anticipated collection.
Kate Barton Fall Winter 2023, Photo: Courtesy of Kate Barton