Rave Meets Runway: A New SLC Designer Redefines Modern Rave Wear

This 2026 summer is burning through Utah with record highs, and rave-goers are feeling the heat. From Element 11 campouts to the upcoming Das Energi Festival held at The Great Saltair, wooks and rail riders are scrambling for practical, show-stopping outfits that don’t break the bank and leave them feeling like a work of art. Aside from the obvious choice of fast-fashion sites such as Shein, which steal from real fashion designers, Utahns are trusting local style gurus like Salt Lake City’s Katsi’saloloks (Katsi) to dress in rave-ware that checks boxes in both form and function.

Katsi is taking center stage and redefining how rave culture sees fashion with her 2026 designs that are both a sensory experience and masterful in practical style. From the age of 16, Katsi has pulled inspiration from drag queens, alternative styles and her own Persian and Mohawk Native roots to blur the lines of fine art and streetwear by using exclusively upcycled, thrifted or second-hand items to construct incredible rave designs. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Katsi to talk about her debut collection and how it all came to life through her own rave festival adventures this past year.

Starting with Das Energi Festival in 2025, Katsi shows off a pearl-laden, mermaid-inspired look made from a thrifted dress, deconstructed necklaces and a clearance bralette to battle the hot and dusty conditions of the Great Salt Lake shores during one of the largest and loudest Utah raves. She makes her intricate beadwork the centerpiece of this look through the literal weaving of discarded materials, using techniques from Native influences. “Beadwork is a language in my culture,” she explains. “It’s how we tell stories, it’s how traditions are passed down, it’s how we communicate with one another.” Katsi goes on to say how her ancestry can be found subtly folded into every design in her repertoire, adding layers of intrinsic meaning to otherwise jaw-dropping and outright sexy rave fits.

Functionality and fashion go hand-in-hand with her next design she flaunted this past fall, decked in four dollars’ worth of thrifted faux fur material. As a form of direct backlash to fast fashion, Katsi states she “put pockets in my outfits out of spite.” A large issue rave-goers face is comfortability, especially in colder climates during outdoor festivals. It was here that Katsi was approached by several people praising her for her construction of an alternative style that didn’t sacrifice comfort for the sake of expression. She responds, “Fast fashion cuts every corner and seam that they can, but I keep the wearer in mind.” The literal crowning jewel of this fur look is the perfect example of inclusivity and comfort in rave style: two handmade, 36-inch rave hair extensions that allow anyone with any hair type to dramatically change their look and easily remove for comfortable sleeping without hours of braiding or skull-splitting tension headaches.

Katsi’s complete skill set, eye for design and care for the wearer can all be perfectly concluded in her final look, a black-and-gold, goddess-inspired split skirt with hand beading and a chain top specifically designed for flow artists to dance without impediment. She emphasizes how the weight of the fabric adds interesting textures to the wearer’s movements: “This is what I love about fashion; it can become so many things.” Katsi explains, “This fabric was going to end up in the trash, but now it has been made into something people would pay to wear.”

After sitting down and chatting with Katsi’saloloks, she allowed me behind the scenes on a work in progress, involving sought-after, silk-lined hoods with a whimsical fairy aesthetic. With her new rise in popularity amongst rave-goers, she hopes to see herself dressing celebrities and artists such as Zendaya and Anne Hathaway in her fashion career. Follow Salt Lake City’s own Katsi’saloloks on Instagram @katsisaloloks to purchase her designs and witness her rise to fashion fame.

Read other fashion interviews from SLUG:
What’s In My Closet? With Stevie Shock
Hannah Ruth Zander’s Toast of the Town Dazzles Salt Lake City

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