Easton native seeks support for lingerie thesis in New York City

For Kathryn Rambo, clothes are an extension of who you are.

Through her research as a senior at Parsons The New School for Design, the Easton Area High School graduate has come to understand that people choose clothes to demonstrate who they are on the inside.

That’s the philosophy behind the lingerie line she’s developing as part of her thesis. Her research explores tattoo art and body modification and reveals “how people change their outer flesh to reflect their inner selves.”

For her, lingerie is “something that you want to feel comfortable in that accentuates your body and who you are.”

The 22-year-old is in elite company as only 40 freshmen are accepted into the dual BFA/BA program each year. She’ll wrap up in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and next year will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

But she needs help.

She is raising funds on gofundme.com to buy the materials and supplies she needs to make the garment.

Rambo’s education in merging art with business began when she was a girl.

Her mother, Alicia Rambo Wozniak, owns Easton Yoga. Her late grandfather, Robin Porter, owned Connexions Gallery in Easton. Her grandmother, Pat Porter, owned a vintage clothing store called The Cat’s Pajamas for three years in Downtown Easton.

“I think a lot of people think art is a hobby,” she said. “It was really great to grow up in an environment where they were living successful lives. It was really inspiring to me.”

When The Cat’s Pajamas closed, Pat Porter gave the left-over vintage garments to Rambo.

Rambo’s grandmother was her first fashion influence, she said. She grew up playing dress-up in 1940s and 1950s gowns, gloves and costume jewelry. She owns 1880s hats and parasols, which sparked her interest in how clothes are made.

Rambo learned how to sew couture clothing and make patterns from scratch at the Arts Fashion Institute in Riegelsville in 2011 under Pamela Ptak, a contestant on Project Runway. Rambo took art classes from Parsons graduate Maria Kastrinkos who ran Project Blue in Downtown Easton.

“These influences have given me an edge over my peers … to be able to make this clothing,” Rambo said.

Rambo interacted with models at Parsons this year and with customers through her internship at La Perla. She saw seemingly modest customers buy expensive pieces of lingerie, she said. She realized that customers have different needs, and the fashion designer’s role is to fulfill all those needs.

“It’s not a choice that you necessarily want to show to the world,” she said. “It can empower you if you know you’re wearing something beautiful under your clothes … (it’s) secret empowerment.”

For Rambo, fashion design and psychology go hand in hand.

“Fashion is such a choice that people make and it’s really cool to study the psychological reasons why people choose clothes,” Rambo said. “I think it will give me a marketing edge … to be able to make educated decisions about why I’m designing something.”

After Rambo graduates, she hopes to secure a lingerie design position in New York, London or Paris at a luxury brand. Eventually she wants to open her own business and stay true to her family’s legacy.

“(My family) has given me an edge in New York,” she said. “I know what it takes to run your own business.”

LEARN MORE

For more information, visit kathrynrambo.com.

To donate to Kathryn Rambo’s lingerie project, visit gofundme.com/kathrynrambothesis.

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