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“Function can have fashion and of course, not everyone wants a bright or colorful mask, but I think it can brighten a grocer's day to have someone come through their line with a cheerful mask!"
In an era where the world seems stagnantly at a standstill, Kaira Roos, is crafting chic safety face masks, even during the most disillusioned times. The fashion designer and jack-of-all-trade, is constructing bright, versatile, quintessential face masks with a portion of her proceeds supporting the Los Angeles Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, Los Angeles (CASA/LA).
The 35-year-old North Dakota native who lives in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles admits that fashion was never at the forefront of career aspirations. “I'm happy to be from there [North Dakota], but as soon as I realized you could live somewhere else, I knew I would leave after high school,” says Roos, a designer with a penchant for individuality.
Growing up shopping thrift stores schooled Roos in fashion history and honed her love of styling. During her youth, Roos always enjoyed drawing the styles of different people. The thought of a career in fashion seemed surreal growing up in Fargo as a blonde, boldly dressed girl. “Sadly, I felt I would come off as frivolous or unrealistic if I were to say, ‘I'm going into fashion."
Kaira Roos yearbook cover winner from elementary school in Fargo, ND
Before becoming a tastemaker, Roos channeled her creativity into painting, ceramics, and “sculpting” haircuts for her friends and herself. “I loved the idea of doing hair for runway shows,” Roos revealed. During her studies at Central Oregon Community College, a professor suggested fashion design as a career path, after her vases turned out to look more like dresses. However, she brushed it aside thinking of fashion as a pipe dream, at least for the time being. As she worked towards her yoga teaching certification in Seattle, she stumbled upon the apparel program at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) and suddenly everything fell into place.
Roos enrolled in the apparel program while working three jobs. The Seattle Central alum started as a design intern for Dolce Vita in 2012, before moving up to the assistant designer of girls', and juniors’ footwear for the brand. Roos admits shoe designing was a career-high due to the dimensionality and the way a certain pair of shoes can make a person look or feel. “The right shoe can make you feel so amazing, not to mention taller!”
Later she transitioned into a role at Nordstrom designing leather goods and trend accessories. Roos landed a job as an associate designer at Living Doll in Los Angeles in 2016. Currently, the fashion connoisseur freelances as an assistant stylist for commercials and short films. She is enthralled in costuming and styling different personalities as she pulls inspiration from people in her life, that she has interacted with or watched, as well as, past colleagues, teachers, and any of the characters found in her everyday life. “I love working under stylists who encourage, critique, and challenge me!”
With only a few more steps to complete before joining the Motion Pictures Costumers IATSE Local 705 union, she bonded with the crew and gifted cast of the anticipated indie film The Argument. “Sharing the passion of making the project versus selling a commercial product was very rewarding and charming,” claims Roos.
In the age of Coronavirus, the question of whether fashion can survive is being tossed around by many fashion powerhouses. Nevertheless, Roos transitioned her creativity into our new reality and has proved that fashion can adapt. She has elevated fashion with function and design expertise to make this new necessity fashionable. The masks made from fabric remnants inherited from her great aunt Muriel, showcase mid-century Hawaiian prints splashed in vibrant, punchy colors. Roos proclaims, “I knew people would love them and know she would have done the same!” Great aunt Muriel was a riveter in San Francisco during the war. While living in Honolulu she spent her days painting, quilting with fabric from Hawaiian factories, and creating scrimshaw pieces that incorporate scrollwork carved in bone or ivory.
Pictured: Great aunt Muriel oil painting in her studio in Honolulu
In the age of Coronavirus, the question of whether fashion can survive is being tossed around by many fashion powerhouses. Nevertheless, Roos transitioned her creativity into our new reality proving that fashion can adapt. She has elevated fashion with function and design expertise to make this new necessity fashionable. The masks made from fabric remnants inherited from her great aunt Muriel, showcase mid-century Hawaiian prints splashed in vibrant, punchy colors. Roos proclaims, “I knew people would love them and know she would have done the same!” Great aunt Muriel was a riveter in San Francisco during the war. While living in Honolulu she spent her day's painting, quilting with fabric from Hawaiian factories, and creating scrimshaw pieces that incorporate scrollwork carved in bone or ivory.
In between mask making and styling, it is reasonable to integrate self-care in her routine via vinyasa and hatha yoga in addition to meditation, which affords her the ability to see different perspectives to remain inspired. Aside from yoga, her favored pastimes are surfing and skateboarding, coupled with an occasional livestream dance class led by Grammy-nominated choreographer, Ryan Heffington. “Yoga and my past life as a snowboard bum helps me in trying to be a better surfer.” In the future, Roos wants to develop a swimwear line as she is inspired by the surf, beach, ocean life, and live-in-the-moment energy of California.
As we all are enduring periods of ups and downs, the fashion maven has been keeping up with friends and family. “It's a great time to be honest with our feelings right now because most likely we're not alone in what we're going through internally,” Roos says.
The pundit fashion designer shared her advice for future fashion seekers, to be honest with your desires and how you envision your life. She has come to realize if you can let yourself be vulnerable, you can do anything. Failing, or mistakes are all part of the process. The joy and success in the world are out there, she advises, “It's available for you if you really work on defining and manifesting it as your own reality!”
You can claim one of her highly coveted masks on her @alohamuriel Instagram page by commenting with your zip code and follow up with a DM for shipping or drop-off details. For each Hawaiian print mask sold, five dollars will be donated to the Los Angeles COVID-19 Crisis Fund. Five dollars from every reversible tie-dye/picnic plaid mask sold will go towards CASA/LA You can purchase her White T-Shirt Project creation on eBay, with proceeds going to CASA/LA.
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