Conversations with Kristine Buck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Buck.

Hi Kristine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been creative, even as a kid. I can remember always drawing something, painting something, or trying to take something and turn it into whatever I imagined. I loved art classes growing up, and as I got older, I started leaning more toward fashion.

I feel like I really started getting into fashion design from watching red carpets and award shows. I loved the fashion, the hair, the makeup, the glitz and glam, and just seeing what everyone would wear. I loved watching the show Fashion Police too. I would get out my little craft table, watch the red carpet, and sit there sketching what I wanted to see or coming up with designs I would dress different celebrities in.

That eventually led me to study Fashion at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where I earned my BFA in Fashion and created my senior capstone collection. Now, I take on custom orders and alterations while continuing to develop my own work and pursue opportunities within the fashion industry.

As a fashion designer, I work on custom garments and alterations while exploring femininity through the relationship between softness and structure in my own designs. My work focuses on sculptural silhouettes and dimensional forms, using draping to create movement, shape, and balance. Draping is one of my favorite aspects of the design process, as it allows me to experiment with fabric and explore how it interacts with the body. Alongside my technical skills in pattern making and garment construction, it allows me to translate my creative concepts into fully realized garments. I’m particularly drawn to the tension between delicate and architectural elements and how those contrasts can coexist within a distinctly feminine point of view.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. I experienced a lot of major life changes while I was in college, including COVID and quarantine, being away from family and friends, and unexpectedly losing my dad in the middle of my college career. Navigating those things personally while also keeping up creatively and academically was difficult.

Another challenge has been learning how to hold onto my love for fashion and creativity as it’s gone from something I simply enjoyed to something I studied and now want to build a career in. When your passion becomes your work, it can be easy to get caught up in deadlines, expectations, and the business side of it and lose some of the joy that made you love it in the first place.

During my senior year at SCAD, I took a painting class for non-majors that reminded me how important it is to create simply because I want to. Since then, I’ve tried to make space for creativity outside of work—whether that’s sketching, painting, sewing something for myself, doing my nails, cooking, or whatever I feel inspired to do. I’m still finding that balance, but getting back to the basics has helped me stay connected to why I fell in love with creating in the first place.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At my core, I consider myself a creative. I don’t really like putting myself into one box, but fashion is definitely a huge part of my creative identity. My work tends to lean toward elevated ready-to-wear and eveningwear with a wearable-art feel. I’m drawn to classic, elegant silhouettes, but I love making them feel unexpected through materials and texture, especially combining hard and soft elements or materials that may not conventionally go together.

I also really enjoy the technical side of fashion and working with the human form. Draping is one of my strengths, especially gathering, pleating, shape, and volume, and I’m skilled in both traditional and digital patternmaking and garment construction. I’m very detail-oriented—I’m a Virgo, so I hate to be cliché, but there’s definitely some perfectionism in there! It can be both a strength and a challenge, and I’m learning to balance that precision with allowing art and the creative process to be imperfect.

One of my proudest accomplishments is completing my senior collection. I took it from concept to completion, from designing and technical flats to sourcing, dyeing and weaving materials, construction, fittings, and the final photoshoot. I remember watching my models walk in my looks during final critique and thinking, “Wow, I really did this.” I thought about the younger version of me who dreamed of studying fashion one day and knew she would be proud. Seeing something that started in my mind become a collection I created with my own two hands was really special.

What’s next?
Right now, I’m focused on refining and expanding my portfolio, continuing to take on custom and personal projects, and pursuing more opportunities within the fashion industry. I’d love to work with established designers and fashion houses where I can gain more industry experience, continue developing my skills, and contribute my own perspective as a designer.

Long term, I would love to have a fashion line of my own. For now, I’m focused on continuing to create, building a career that feels authentic to me, and staying connected to the things that made me fall in love with fashion in the first place. I’m excited to see where the next chapter takes me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kristinedanielle?stkn=bDVwNjRtanZrdnVo&utm_source=qr