Pittsburgh Fashion Week Designer Kaitlyn Berthold

By Payton Ferris

By focusing on elements of fantasy and history, Kaitlyn Berthold creates a style based on the beauty of other worlds and times.

As a cosplayer herself, Kaitlyn was originally intrigued by the fashion world through making her own costumes. By working on more complicated designs for characters, she encountered challenges and was able to grow her skill set for her work. From aspects such as chainmail to creating props from household items she was able to bring her visions to life through the inspiration of a character as a starting point. She now utilizes this concept of inspiration in her collections by providing a background that helps delve further into garment details.

In 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic halted her schooling at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and delayed her plans. She was able to travel to London and build her knowledge via an internship, but other plans such as going to Milan as well as participating in past Pittsburgh Fashion Week events were delayed from the virus. Despite these setbacks, she learned “to be persistent and have faith in both herself and her designs.”

As she got the opportunity to travel, she has observed how different interpretations of both history and fantasy are represented in varying cultures. During a trip to Venice, Italy Kaitlyn was given access to a costumer’s backroom for a masquerade ball. For these costumes made in Venice, everything was done very traditionally in the sense that items were made by hand and a major emphasis is put on the details of each piece. This visit along with her other travels has inspired her to look toward greater plans for where her design future may take her.

When looking at the possibilities for the fashion industry, Kaitlyn hopes to see the elimination of fast fashion to increase the creation of long-lasting products. She also wants to see more opportunities given to independent designers. She knows how much work and love that designers put into their work, so she hopes that customers will realize the impact that they make on small businesses as “buying from an independent designer means more and has more effect than an online wholesale retailer.”