What She Does: Fond as I am of the Houston rock scene it's not exactly a leading fashion center for the city. The guys have beards, the girls wear the bare minimum to escape the heat, and Tyagaraja has that whole Jedi thing going on. But when you want to put some style into your rock show you've got to call Gin Martini. She's draped the best outfits in music on local heroes like Only Beast, Max Xanadu, and The Freakouts. The coolest of the cool can be spotted all over Montrose in her work.
Martini grew into fashion as a kid. She was a dance brat, and was inspired by watching her other sew her stage clothes from scratch. Eventually she found more expression in costuming and design than performance. Now she's the stage mom for our up-and- coming rockers.
Why She Likes It: "I love the process, it is very scientific. You get to experiment with new fabrics and color combinations and watch them explode into an amazing outfit. You have to be very precise to measure properly, so that the clothing will fit the client correctly."
What Inspires Her: Like a lot of people on a deadline much of what goes into her work comes out of a large coffee. All joking aside Martini is a space nut that is constantly enamored by the vast realms still left to see and explore.
Aside form the endless majesty of the cosmos she also draws strongly from the process of preparing for a performance. That null space where you're taking the deep breath before getting on the stage is an extremely fertile ground for ideas, and helps her to better find the looks and ensembles that will best show off her subject's talents,
She also considers Gwen Stefani a muse, both for her abilities as a pop star and her work in fashion design.
If Not Here, Then Where: "I choose to work in Houston to help grow our fashion community here but I love visiting Los Angeles or even London, England for the fashion inspiration!"
If Not This, Then What: "If I wasn't a fashion designer, I'd become a scientist! I'm sure I'd tie it into fashion somehow by inventing a dress that could help you quit smoking or something!
I am pursuing my vocals on the side in my downtime. I'm posting demos on my soundcloud.com/ginmartini and I believe there are a few videos floating around of me performing."
What's Next: Currently Martini is working on scoping out a bigger warehouse to create in, and is in the process of planning her next line.
More Creatives for 2013 (In order of most recently published; click here for the full page).
Lacey Crawford, painter and sculptor Homer Starkey, novelist Jenn Fox, mixed media Shohei Iwahama, dancer Erica DelGardo, metalsmith Bob Clark, executive director Houston Family Arts Center Kerrelyn Sparks, bestselling romance author Lindsay Halpin, punk rock mad hatter Drake Simpson, actor Shelby Carter, Playboy model turned photographer David Matranga, actor Crystal Belcher, pole dancer Daniel Kramer, photographer Blue 130, pin-up explosion art Nina Godiwalla, author and TED speaker David Wilhem, light painter Tom Abrahams, author and newscaster Browncoat, pin-up pop artist Kris Becker, Nu-Classical composer and pianist Vincent Fink, science fashion Stephanie Saint Sanchez, Senorita Cinema founder Ned Gayle, thrift store painting defacer Sameera Faridi, fashion designer Greg Ruhe, The Human Puppet Sophia L. Torres, founder and co-artistic director of Psophonia Dance Company Maggie Lasher, dance professor and artistic director Jordan Jaffe, founder of Black Lab Theatre Outspoken Bean, performance poet Barry Moore, architect Josh Montoute, mobile gaming specialist Ty Doran, young actor Gwen Zepeda, Houston's first Poet Laureate Joseph Walsh, principal dancer at Houston Ballet Justin Garcia, artist Buck Ross, dilettante and director of Moores Opera Center Patrick Renner, sculptor of the abstract and the esoteric Tomas Glass, abstract artist and True Blood musician Ashley Stoker, painter, photographer and Tumblr muse Amy Llanes, artistic airector of Rednerrus Feil Dance Company Bevin Bering Dubrowski, executive director at the Houston Center for Photography Lydia Hance, founder and director of Frame Dance Productions Piyali Sen Dasgupta, mixed media artist and nature lover Dean James, New York Times bestselling mystery novelist Nicola Parente, abstract painter and photographer Cheryl Schulke, handmade leather pursemaker Anthony Rathbun, Alternative Lifestyle Photographer David Salinas, computer-less analog photographer Danielle Burns, art curator Alicia DiRago, Whimseybox founder Katia Zavistovski, contemporary art curator Ashley Horn, choreographer, filmmaker Amanda Stevens, scary book author Peter Lucas, film and video curator, music lover and self-described culture-slinger Ana MarÃa Otamendi, collaborative pianist and vocal coach Billy D. Washington, comedian Michele Brangwen, choreographer and dancer Kristin Warren, actress and choreographer Kelly Sears, animator and film maker Colton Berry, Bayou City Theatrics' artistic director jhon r. stronks,dance-maker Joe Grisaffi, actor, director, writer, cinematographer Jordan "Monster Mac" McMahon, artist, designer