Kimberly Corday is the founder and designer behind upcycled bespoke couture brand: Kimberly Corday. After completing a fine arts degree at Rhode Island School of Design, Corday shifted her creative practice from the canvas to the body. It is in this space that Corday found her niche and has since developed five masterful collections using found materials and repurposed textiles. As her brand continues to grow and evolve, we asked Corday to indulge us in her life as a designer, share a few muses, and let us in on some of her creative process. 

DISPLAY COPY: Take us back to the very beginning, there’s something about Kimberly Corday designs that reference a bit of childlike whimsy & heart. What were you interested in as a child?

KIMBERLY: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating or deep in fantasy. My mom gave me and my siblings a very magical childhood. She encouraged us to play and dream which strengthened our gravitation towards the arts. Paintings were some of my earliest friends- I could hang out with them any time I wanted just by picking up a book. They’re always there waiting for us to explore, learn from, fall in and out of love with and “commune with our ancestors” as Jerry Saltz once said. 

DISPLAY COPY: How would you describe Kimberly Corday right now, at this very moment? 

KIMBERLY: Hauntingly coquettish, bespoke couture. 

DISPLAY COPY: Could you speak towards the evolution of your art practice? How did your artistic exploration and academic training lead into the creation of a brand? 

KIMBERLY: Growing up I always thought I would be in fine art—a painter on a roster at a buzzy gallery or what have you. I was lucky enough to study painting and art history at RISD. I became so hellbent on the dream that I didn’t let myself see any possibility outside of it for years. It wasn’t until lockdown when I was hand-weaving tapestries that I wanted to see what my work would look like on a body. What started as an investigation into new forms slowly turned into a series of wearable sculptures made from furskins and boudoir remnants I’d collected over the years. I didn’t know it at the time but I was hungry for a collaborative, world-building practice; one that would start with me alone in the studio but require others to activate each piece and complete its life cycle. That’s the part of the process that excites me the most, seeing what the monster does once it steps outside the lab. 

DISPLAY COPY: What inspired you to incorporate the practice of upcycling existing textiles into your work? 

KIMBERLY: My best friend from RISD Kisa Sky Shiga has always shown [through attraction not promotion] how one can reduce environmental impact in both the home and work space- her line Strawberry Western is one of the only anti-waste activewear labels that’s actually walking the walk. It was Kisa’s ambition and integrity that inspired me to apply minimal-waste values to my studio practice. There’s a magical element that draws me to sourcing vintage materials as well…you’re obtaining someone else’s memories—swapping cells with a nameless, faceless person and acting as a conduit for a discarded narrative. I like to think that antiques find us, rather than the other way around. 

DISPLAY COPY: What are the most rewarding / challenging aspects about working with found materials? 

KIMBERLY: Finding the right found materials takes patience. You have to work one on one with vendors whose stock is contingent on donations, you have to carve out hours to sift through online collections and wait for all the puzzle pieces to trickle in. Sometimes a “work day” looks like me driving on every side of LA to check out an immeasurable number of vintage shops; or me repairing a frayed girdle from the 20s. I’m constantly reminding the type-A perfectionist in me that prep days are still productive and that the garments wouldn’t be possible without them. 

DISPLAY COPY: Why is it important for you to use sustainable methods in your designs? Do you find that creative constraints [like working with antique garments, etc.] are helpful aids for discovering new modes of making? 

KIMBERLY: It’s an environmental and creative decision. Upcycling is first and foremost a way to minimize my footprint. It’s also an antidote to the anxiety I get when staring at bolts of new fabric—the endless possibilities cause me some sort of stage fright. It’s almost like oldfangled fabrics speak to me and show me what they want to be this time around. I love the idea of past lives and built-in narratives all coming together to exist in one Frankensteinian object. 

DISPLAY COPY: Can you describe your creative process when designing a collection? Is it feeling based? Research? Material? 

KIMBERLY: It starts with plucking scraps from my heap of thrifted textiles, deconstructing the puzzle pieces and putting them back together again in an unexpected way [bunched, upended, bisected]. I never know what I’m going to make beforehand; I just tinker with the materials and my thoughts are intervened by an apparition of what the piece will look like. I’m shown the end product, I just have to fathom how to get there. Bob Dylan once touched on this phenomenon: “It’s like a ghost is writing…except the ghost picked me to write the song.”

DISPLAY COPY: Each collection is so thoughtful down to every detail [ex: style names are like little poems.] How does your background working in various artistic mediums play into this process? 

KIMBERLY: Thank you! I love when people respond to the product names. It’s almost like art, specifically classical painting, is my Higher Power [if I had to choose one]. My way of honoring it or translating it at this particular stage in my career happens to be in the form of fashion design. So, a lot of the titles are nods to artworks that have had an impact on me over the years. 

DISPLAY COPY: What are you most inspired by recently?

KIMBERLY: Gothic fiction and 15th century Flemish art!

DISPLAY COPY: When you’re in need of a break or need to quiet your mind, what do you do? 

KIMBERLY: I go on walks in my neighborhood or sit in my backyard; my next door neighbor has these huge palm trees that are almost 100 years old. When there’s a breeze, the fronds sound like waves crashing in the distance. It’s a nice way to find your center again. 

DISPLAY COPY: If you could give one styling tip, what would it be? 

KIMBERLY: Try to revisit or remix the items in your closet that haven’t seen the light of day as opposed to buying something new. Some of my favorite outfits came from dusting off a gem I’ve been sleeping on. Also, dressing up is proven to boost serotonin and dopamine levels; I highly recommend giving it a try at least once a week even if no one else sees. 

DISPLAY COPY: Having grown up in Los Angeles and being based there now, what does the city mean to you? How does your environment surprise or challenge you? 

KIMBERLY: People ask me why I’m drawn to Rococo art—how could a genre marked by frivolity ignite a body of work? It’s not just the extravagance that captivates me. It’s the mischief and sexuality that lie beneath [i.e. puckish cherubs, rosy rumps, voyeurism, eroticism under the guise of gaiety, etc]. It’s like a syrupy dessert cut with lemon and salt. I look at LA in the same light. It’s written off as this shimmering, sycophantic landscape when really, it’s dripping in louche features and haunting lore. Los Angeles is constantly upholding an elegant/punk dichotomy. I’m trying to achieve that same tension or surprise in my work.

DISPLAY COPY: What’s the perfect event to attend wearing Kimberly Corday?

KIMBERLY: A raunchy, al fresco dinner party. 

DISPLAY COPY: Kimberly Corday is both pretty & punk — is this also how you’d describe your personal style? 

KIMBERLY: My wardrobe is hyper fem with a twist of punk [think a ruffled gingham skirt with a Bad Brains shirt]; on any given day I’ll listen to Vivaldi and Minor Threat in the same sitting; I’m overly polite with a trucker’s mouth. These dualities sum up both my work, personality and sense of style; equal parts sweet and tart. 

I feel most confident in a block heel and some masculine element like my black duster with shoulder pads. I love building an entire fit around 1-2 vintage items, you know, really let them set the tone. The strongest vintage pieces in my closet are accessories from the 80s my mom was kind enough to pass down to me. A personal favorite is a deep green Escada belt adorned with drippy pocket watch chains and clocks that are all stopped at 3:10. 

DISPLAY COPY: Your brand shows that the intersection of sustainability and luxury can co-exist. How do you see the future of upcycled fashion evolving over the years to come? 

KIMBERLY: I think it is our responsibility as today’s creatives to respond earnestly to global warming. Any artist can employ sustainable methods in their workplace, source low-impact materials, and rebuke hyper-consumerism. I’m seeing a lot of independent makers come out with zero-waste art/designs lately. It’s a growing movement and community that I am proud to be a part of. I would only hope that the rise in vintage wardrobe acquisitions and ecological production becomes a global conduct as opposed to a trend. 

DISPLAY COPY: What’s your sourcing practice like for fabrics and materials? Is there a material you’re dying to incorporate into a future collection? 

KIMBERLY: My mom has been such a huge part of sourcing—all of the pillow shams and curtains in the earliest collections either came from her linen closet or a chest she kept of my grandmother’s bedding. Nowadays I scour weird corners of the internet and treasure troves of eccentric vintage dealers I’ve become friends with in the valley. I want to incorporate more objects. Last month I made a costume for an upcoming short film by using pink equestrian award ribbons from the 70s.

DISPLAY COPY: Can you describe the experience of seeing your pieces worn on a body? Does the body aid in making each piece truly come to life? 

KIMBERLY: Absolutely. My work is dependent on the wearer. That symbiotic relationship eliminates the isolation I felt as a painter. A painting stops as soon as the artist steps away from it, leaving room for doubt, alienation, and an unfulfilling sense of self-sufficiency [at least in my experience]. Clothing design, on the other hand, feels similar to filmmaking in that it starts with one idea, one person, but necessitates the participation of many in order to carry out its life cycle. There’s something thrilling about turning your cocoon over to your team—you get to witness it hatch, take flight, and coalesce with harmonious forces. 

DISPLAY COPY: What are you most proud of when it comes to the business you’ve built? 

KIMBERLY: It makes my heart soar when I catch a glimpse of someone wearing my brand out in the wild. Last year I saw photos of a girl who wore one of my skirts to a costume party she threw inspired by the 60s Czech film “Daisies.” That’s all I really want—to make people feel special while wearing my pieces. 

DISPLAY COPY: What advice would you give to an emerging designer looking at working with recycled materials? 

KIMBERLY: Be patient. Patient with sourcing, patient with the fragility of the materials, patient with potential consumers. Independent and sustainable retail is sadly still quite new and niche; thus, building your clientele can be a slow [yet rewarding] process! 

DISPLAY COPY: Looking ahead, how do you see Kimberly Corday evolving in the next 5, 10 years? What do you most look forward to?

KIMBERLY: I’m looking forward to expanding the world of my brand through film, editorial, runways and pop-ups. This year I’m releasing my first ready-to-wear collection and a short campaign film I directed in the spring. The brand is about to enter a more goth, provocative period which I’m very excited about.