10 Calgary Tastemakers: Kaiti Dangerkat

View the Kaiti Dangerkat 10 Tastemakers Video

Last year, Kaiti Dangerkat wore a blonde wig and performed as Barbie and the Rockers for the doll’s 50th anniversary party in Paris.

At London Fashion Week, she vogued wearing a puffy rainbow-coloured feather bolero and graphic print catsuit for designer Nova Dando’s fashion show. Closer to home, she dressed in an Egyptian space-age costume to dance on the observation deck of the Calgary Tower for her Addicted exhibition.

These mash-ups of fashion and movement were created by House of Dangerkat, the international multi-faceted arts collective created by Dangerkat in 2007.

“I create the fashion and the dance at the same time,” says Dangerkat. “The dance moves allow the clothing to move in a certain way. They feed off of each other.”  

Off stage, her personal style is a fluid art project in itself.

“Style has to reflect the person you are, and my life is always changing,” says Dangerkat, who is inspired by everything from old movies and her childhood to library books and music.

Currently, her interest in androgyny keeps her hair short, and her wardrobe is a collection of items scavenged from thrift stores, altered sometimes minutes before she leaves home, whether she’s here in Calgary or at her alternate home base in New York City.

“If you create your look for yourself, you have more ownership,” she says, “and when you have ownership, you can stomp and strut. It’s about finding it for yourself.”

View the Kaiti Dangerkat 10 Tastemakers Video