Harper College will be closed Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day.
The work of Kaine Bautisa, (A.A.S. Fashion Design 2021) was featured in Harper’s Bazaar magazine online, Vietnam editionon 22-08-2025, along with other up and coming designers from the Chicagoland area. Kaine’s strapless fitted leather dress was styled with some giant fashion industry brands including tights by Gucci, bangles by Bergdorf Goodman and shoes by Saint Laurent.
Kaine’s educational journey started at Harper in 2017. After a few years in Fashion Design she transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She graduated with a B.F.A. in the fall of 2024. During the end of her time at SAIC, she became interested in working with leather. To create an experimental way to connect seams, she developed a technique of shaping leather pieces in such a way that she could lay them flush and staple them together.
Despite having two degrees under her belt, Kaine wasn’t done learning. She came back to Harper in the spring 2024 to work with veteran fashion arts designer and instructor Beata Kaina. She enrolled in FAS 201: Fashion Design Studio, the capstone design class which focuses on creating a collection of five garments and allowing students to graduate with a ready-made portfolio. Kaine continued to work piecing leather together with silver staples creating stunning silhouettes as well as revisiting her machine knitting skills.
Leather pieces from Kaine’s collection displayed at Worn, Torn and Reborn: A Memoir, the 2024 Harper College Fashion show.
Combination of leather pieces and floating hand-dyed fabric from Kaine’s collection displayed at Worn, Torn and Reborn: A Memoir, the 2024 Harper College Fashion show.
Distressed knit dress created with an industrial knitting machine from Kaine’s collection displayed at Worn, Torn and Reborn: A Memoir, the 2024 Harper College Fashion show.
Distressed knit dress created with an industrial knitting machine from Kaine’s collection displayed at Worn, Torn and Reborn: A Memoir, the 2024 Harper College Fashion show.
Leather pieces from Kaine’s collection displayed at Worn, Torn and Reborn: A Memoir, the 2024 Harper College Fashion show.
Kaine’s pieces are so dynamic and interesting that she has been able to rent them out to stylists for various fashion shoots. It was one of these shoots that caught the attention of Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam.
Kaine recently secured a full-time position as an apparel designer working for Wilson Sporting Goods Co. She works designing uniforms and apparel for baseball and fastpitch/softball teams at the pro, college and high school levels.
Says Kaine “I never thought I’d be working in sports. The fashion industry is not just about the runway. You’ve got to find a niche even if that niche is different from what you make and design.”
Networking was important to her success, although she approached it with humility and authenticity. Explains Kaine “I went to events never expecting anything. I just wanted to meet cool people with similar interests and make good friends. The right people will come by whether that be professionally or personally.”
Her advice to current Harper fashion students is to “be open to every opportunity because you never know if it will lead to something exciting. Most importantly, focus on your personal practice and its growth.”
instagram: @kaine.bau