Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Belleville native Elyse Rainbolt studied fashion, music, and art in San Diego before apprenticing under a sixth-generation Hungarian master furrier in Denver. The designer also creates artwork and styles music acts, including local band Sleepy Kitty.
What role does music play in your work? Whenever I listen to music, it creates a space or a vibe. [Music] can translate itself into something I’m creating, whether the colors or words... I’ve been collecting records since I was in seventh grade. I’m an analog person. [Laughs.] I’m just obsessed with music. In San Diego, I lived four blocks from the Kasbah; people would ask who I was seeing that night, and I would just say, “I don’t know, but it’s live music!” I feel like musicians are modern-day prophets; they are really able to verbalize what’s going on in the world. Music just speaks to me on a full level. I don't think I would be alive without music. It got me through high school and hard times and also really great times. I can't imagine not having music in my life. It's a really big driving force, and I'm really supportive of musicians. I will fly to Austin, Seattle, New York, Chicago... If there's a concert and it is not in a city I'm in, I'm going! That goes into my work styling bands. I just love to see my work onstage and on my musicians. I style for lots of bands nationally, but I'm just getting to know the music scene here.
What brought you back here? I haven't been back here in 12 years and had a lot of friends from growing up here. The housing market in Denver was getting pretty cut-throat, and since I had so many friends here I thought it would be pretty cool to be back in the same area with all these old friends.
What have you experienced since returning? I've gone to City Sewing Room and done some work, since I came here without a space set up. It has been a great intro to some local designers. I've also gone to a bunch of Saint Louis Fashion Incubator events. I haven't been to any fashion shows yet, but I have applied to a lot of grants and Project Runway and to the SLFI. Evan and Paige of Sleepy Kitty have also been great with turning me on to art and fashion openings, Reese Gallery, and small music venues like Joe's Café.
Have you visited any art galleries? I've pretty much been checking out private gallery shows so far. But, of course, I grew up going to the Saint Louis Art Museum and City Museum.
What else have you enjoyed doing since moving back? I love to do nature stuff, like Johnson's Shut In's, Shawnee National Forest, Horseshoe Lake... I just like finding nature outside of the city—float trips, spelunking in caves, pretty much any water feature. Just within two hours of the city, I have found stunning spaces. Posting those pictures online, people are asking me where I am, and I'm like, "This is Illinois or Missouri!"... Coming from the mountains of Colorado, it's important to me. I am a city person 100 percent, but I do need those brief visits to nature.
Have you found a showroom yet? I have been looking at spaces and just saw one on Cherokee. I like South City a lot. I also looked at a place on Delmar. It's hard to say yet. I like being close to a coffee shop. I like being able to walk to a restaurant. I like walking on a street and knowing everyone in the neighborhood. I like to be where the action is—being near great music, food, art, and especially coffee! I'm actually headed to The Mud House shortly. Ideally, I'd love to have a showroom and work space and be able to live there. When musicians come to town, I like to be able to host them and have everything close by to do my custom work or a repair or remodel.
Tell me about your custom work. When I apprenticed in Denver, everything we did was custom. If you came in with a picture and were, like, “I want this,” we were able to custom-make it. Or say you have your favorite jacket, but now it’s too small or you want it in burgundy; I can duplicate something that already exists. Or I can just meet you and see what types of things you like, sketch it up, and go from there. And anything with my hand-painted pieces: You can choose your colors or just go through my album, see how it makes you feel, and draw something from that.
Which medium do you prefer? Fur is my favorite. It lasts forever. A fur garment is going to last you 60 to 80 years if you care for it, whereas a faux garment that’s made out of nonrenewable resources is just going to look bad in five years. I also love leather, as well as hand painting, because I just start drawing and never have a sketch of what my finished project is going to be. It just happens, and I know what it is when it’s done... I'm very into the history of fur. It's definitely a dying art. In 1880, there were 2,500 furriers in the U.S. During WW2, it was too dangerous to ship the skins overseas to have them processed, so St. Louis got the government contract to do all the tanning for seal and other furs. The government brought all the seal manufacturing to the Fouke Fur Company in St. Louis. They produced and manufactured all of the seal manufacturing until 1961.
You get a lot of attention for your leggings. I’m not a big fan of denim, and leggings are so comfortable. They are all hand-cut, painted, and sewn. They can be washed, dry-cleaned, whatever—the colors don’t fade. I use silk dye, which is permanent and can be used for leather… I get inspired by the ’60s: pants that Mick Jagger or The Beatles or Janis Joplin were wearing, or something from a movie… I don’t do any computer or digital work—again, I'm very analog and hands-on.
