Fashion lover and DJ Kane Edwards had the intention of making a comic or zine in Iowa City for years. Tonight, that intention became a reality — what started as a project to highlight Edwards and his friends’ fashion has transformed into a zine printed in full color with an involved launch party.

The first issue of Edwards’ zine Fashion is Murder released on April 15. Taking place at the Trumpet Blossom Cafe, the launch featured a fashion show with models from the zine. 

“It’s just kind of a silly, fun, creative project,” Edwards said. “I talked about wanting to do a comic or a zine for years, and then had some extra time on my hands over the winter. I finally decided to just do it, and I was getting really into fashion at the time.”

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The show was completely sold out — patrons filtered into the cafe with a line out the door. Groups of friends crowded around the tables, booths, and bars as songs like Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” played from the speakers, heard just beneath the crowd’s friendly chatter. 

Edwards said that both the zine and the show were simply a collaboration between friends. Highlighting unique fashion in Iowa City, the zine itself holds multiple Q&A segments about fashion, several different outfits that are featured, and a handful of spreads that are centered around “pet fashion.” 

Cats, dogs, a snake, and an axolotl are only a few examples of animals featured in the magazine. The zine’s colorful designs focus on “expressing fashion as fun,” Edwards said. He noted that the zine is available for purchase at White Rabbit in Iowa City, and that he is currently working on making the product available online. Edwards said that he is looking to publish additional volumes of Fashion is Murder in the future.

“I wanted to spotlight all my friends in town,” Edwards said. “I think they made great music and they all have great fashion, and it’s being overlooked — or maybe it’s not, but it needs to be on the front cover of every fashion magazine.”

Edwards said that every zine was printed, folded, and put together by him and his friends. He said that the goal was to make the product as affordable as possible for the general public — the launch party had a $7 cover, which included a free copy of the zine. 

Prior to the show, in an interview with The Daily Iowan, Edwards said that despite the intense planning that the event took, he looked forward to the “controlled chaos” that would arise. As the show began and the models walked down the red carpet laid down for the event, it was clear that the show was a creative collaboration between friends. 

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The styles represented were drastically diverse, with each look telling an entirely different story. Even solely looking at the footwear — Doc Martens, platform Crocs, and bright tennis shoes being only a few choices — every individual fashion item contributed to the different styles present.

Between the outfits presented in the zine and in the show, it was clear that the launch succeeded in its goal — presenting fashion as something fun. Fashion is Murder took a small group of friends, and shared their passions and interests with the Iowa City community. 

“I hate when fashion people just take themselves too seriously,” Edwards said. “It’s pretty anti-fashion in general, I’d say.”