Designer Korto Momolu Goes Dark For New York Fashion Week

Her Spring 2012 collection is bold yet chic

Korto Momolu is in desperate need of sleep. The Project Runway alum, who juggles being a mom and a business woman, is crafting 15 pieces for her upcoming Spring 2012 New York Fashion Week collection. Debuting this Friday, Momolu let Loop 21 steal a couple minutes of her hectic schedule to talk what fashionistas can expect on the runway, her inspirations and the must have pieces the “Korto woman” should own this fall.

Last time we talked you were preparing for what you called your most difficult show, the one in your home country of Liberia. How did it turn out?

It turned out amazing; how it was received in Liberia made it all worthwhile. It was the Sankofa Fashion Show, where I made outfits that reflected the emotions of the women who went through the Civil War in Liberia. So all the garments were kind of based on emotion. They all told a story of what they went through from the beginning with separation, to transformation and finally to celebration. So, it actually got more joyful as the line went on but it was all made in African print and about 80% of the fabric used was traditional Liberian "country cloth." It was a great show.

Now you’re preparing for New York Fashion Week. Are you excited to return back to the tents?

I am! Fashion Week is always exciting and draining and so many different things at once, but it’s what you have to do as a designer if you want to make it. So I’m excited. I’m excited to be almost done my collection so I can take a breather.

What can fashionistas expect to see from you this fall?

This year, I’m pretty much keeping the same foundation with lots of bold prints, strong colors; focusing more on the orange tones: rust, grey, black, cream. I have several prints in the collection with a little bit of black. It’s a little bit more of a darker collection. It’s not your usual collection, where you have everything bright and sunshiny. It’s somewhere in the middle, kind of like a sunset. That’s kind of where I am right now. I’m playing around with different shapes that are very Japanese inspired. I have a lot of kimono-esque pieces and it’s very Korto.

And you touched on the Japanese inspiration but was there an overall inspiration for this collection?