BIOGRAPHY

Designer Catherine Swanson was born in Agana, Guam and spent most of her childhood in Port Arthur, Texas.

Hailing from the University of Texas, Catherine enhanced her studies by completing course work at both Central St. Martin's and Oxford University in England. Upon gaining both a B.S. degree in Fashion Design and B.A. degree in English, Cat moved to London to work under leading British designer, Arkadius.

When at Arkadius, Ltd., in 2002, Catherine founded her own label, Cat Swanson, Inc. and was invited to be one of twenty international designers to design an ensemble for the BMG Music 'Elvis Inspired' fashion auction held at Sotheby's Olympia in London to the aid of the Prince’s Trust.

Cat Swanson presented her first complete collection, "Tiger Lily", in September 2003, which premiered with 7th on Sixth in Bryant Park. The collection garnered much attention from the fashion industry, with a full-page article featured in The New York Times, leading up to the show. The collection was featured on several leading networks including NY1, Fashion Television, E! Entertainment Television, and the Style Network, and a myriad of music industry celebrities, including Liz Phair, Britney Spears, and Lil' Kim piqued an interest in wearing Cat Swanson designs.

Despite surviving a plane crash in Florida in November of 2004, Cat Swanson returned to New York to present her Fall/Winter collection in New York Fashion Week. Sponsored by SAGA Furs, Cat Swanson introduced accessory designs in fur, which were immediately picked up by Neiman Marcus and photographed for several international publications.

Cat Swanson continues to show in New York Fashion Week. Working with leading industry stylists and fashion editors, her pieces may be seen in leading national and international editorial publications including Italian Vanity Fair, W Korea, SOMA, Essence, WWD, Swindle, Nylon, Cream, Clear, Cosmo Girl, Elle Girl, The New York Times, Ebony, Gotham, Fader, Glamour Espanol, In Style, Lucky Magazine, Sportswear International, Stitch, Sleek, Luire, Squint, Planet, BlackBook, and Spin.

In 2005, Cat was selected as a semi-finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. She has also been recently nominated for the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star of the Year Award for Women’s Wear.

The current collection is being represented for sales at the Cat Swanson showroom in New York and is selling exclusively at high-end boutiques across the nation. For press, Cat Swanson is currently represented by NICO:media in New York.