Photo from Whitney Manney

Meet Whitney Manney. Fashion designer. Kansas City native.

“The woman who wears my clothes – if she’s wearing it, she’s saying that she’s an individual, she’s not afraid of who she is. She’s willing to wear that individuality literally on her sleeve. You have to be confident in who you are and what you’re doing if you wear a piece of my clothing.”

Is the individual being lost in our modern, conformist society? Or do we actually have more avenues of expression than ever?

“I feel like yes and no. Speaking in terms of fashion, right now being an individual is the coolest thing. But it’s become so quote-unquote cool that people are searching for ways to become an individual, rather than looking within themselves and saying, ‘OK – this is what is unique about me. Let me be that person.’ Instead of saying, ‘Let me copy what that other person is doing.’ There are a lot of people who aren’t comfortable with themselves, and they’re looking to other people to find out who they are.”

Photo by Sarah Jones Photography

Photo by Lauren Eliza Photography

“You have to be confident in who you are and what you’re doing if you wear a piece of my clothing.”

Photo by Sarah Jones Photography