Four Inane Questions: Designer Whitney Manney

Whitney Manney. // Courtesy of Whitney Manney

Back in 2012, KCMO native Whitney Manney graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with her BFA in Fibers. It didn’t take long for the burgeoning fashion designer to make a name for herself creating garments and textile designs that double as wearable art. Color, pattern, and texture are her quintessential jam.

A decade later and Manney has suddenly become omnipresent. She’s been featured in the PBS shows Make48 and My World Too and has work featured in the KC-tinged Peacock series Bel-Air. She also has more than a dozen runway and gallery shows under her one-of-a-kind, head turning belt.

With a nod to the aesthetics of street art, her clothing lines create a narrative between color and pattern. She says it’s a signature of her work. “My job isn’t done until everybody in the world believes fashion is art,” Manney says. “I want to be able to wear my confidence on my sleeve every day.”

When we caught up with the busy fashionista (and social media maven) to ask her if she was game to answer four inane questions, she called us back immediately. Well, right after lunch, that is. A girl has priorities.  

The Pitch: What’s something that smells weird, but you keep wanting to smell it anyway?

Whitney Manney: I do love the smell of a fresh box of crayons, but I’m also not sneaking around for sniffs. I spend most of my day in a respirator mask at the studio, so I’m super sensitive to bad smells. I don’t play that!

What fabric would you rid the world of immediately?

Gaberdine. It bothers me. The texture; the coating. It warps; it sews weird. It doesn’t feel good on the skin and comes in less-than-inspiring colors. Bye.

Do you have a least favorite letter of the alphabet? 

That’s an odd one. Like what has a letter ever done to me? I will say I do not like the look of lowercase “q”—just doesn’t feel fully committed to me. When I look at uppercase “Q” and lowercase “q,” it just makes me feel like something went wrong.

Does pineapple belong on pizza? What’s your definitive answer?

Absolutely. But I only feel like it belongs on, say, a barbecue chicken moment. Or I will consider with pepperoni, but I want a crunchy, well-cooked pepperoni. Oh, and the pineapple can’t be from a can. It needs to be well thought out. Grilled, crisp pineapple? Now that’s a good time. Olives can get outta here though.