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Jon Fulton Adams launches Queen’s Rocket

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Walking into Jon Fulton Adams’ Northeast area home is like stepping into an Edgar Allan Poe poem.

Cloudy mirrors and creepy portraits hang on the crumbling walls of the Victorian-era house. There are rusted trophies, framed botanical prints and enough taxidermy to spook Norman Bates.

The decor is macabre yet beautiful — much like Fulton Adams’ new men’s fashion line, Queen’s Rocket, which launches Sunday with a fashion show and party at La Esquina, 1000 W. 25th St.

Queen’s Rocket is a collection of pants, jackets, vests and accessories. The pieces, which range in price from $75 to $500, are available through special order at queensrocket.com.

Fulton Adams, a costume designer for the Unicorn Theatre, said he found inspiration in the frilly and buttoned-up Victorian and Edwardian eras, which spanned from the mid-19th century to the early 20th.

His designs evoke a steampunk sensibility, a style that mixes Victorian-era clothing with science fiction. Another influence: skulls, which pop up in Queen’s Rocket garments and in Fulton Adams’ home.

“It’s about seeing the beauty in decay,” he said, and “celebrating something that’s inevitable.”

Fulton Adams’ designs convey drama. That makes sense not only because he works as a costumer, but because his life partner, Ron Megee, is a theater actor and director. (Megee directed the recent stage adaptation of the Bette Midler movie “The Rose” at La Esquina.)

“I’m surrounded by people creating fantasy,” Fulton Adams said.

Inside the designer’s home studio, an inspiration board showcases images of ravens, peacocks and painter Salvador Dali that mingle with 1950s paper dolls and an image of Jesus smoking a joint cut from a vintage T-shirt.

Queen’s Rocket pieces are formal. But you can mix and match them with more casual pieces for everyday wear, Fulton Adams said.

And some pieces — for example, a frilly black-and-cream ascot tie — are easy to take on and off thanks to a hook-and-eye closure.

He holds up a frilly black-and-cream ascot tie for emphasis. It’s easy to get on and off, he said, so if you need to stop by QuikTrip on your way to a party, you can quickly remove it.

Not that Fulton Adams would do that. When it comes to getting dressed, he said he takes after his grandmother, who would spend no less than an hour and a half primping for a trip to the grocery store.

“I’ve never been a T-shirt-and-jeans kind of guy,” he said.


infobox-hr-separator /> infobox-head>Queen’s Rocket menswear launch
What: KC designer Jon Fulton Adams unveils the debut, spring 2010 collection of his fashion line, Queen’s Rocket. Music by Kansas City electronic-rock duo The Monitor. KC theater gurus Ron Megee and David Wayne Reed will direct and emcee, respectively.

When: Doors open at 7:45 p.m. Sunday. The fashion show begins at 9.

Where: La Esquina, 1000 W. 25th St.

Cost: $10 at the door.

More info: queensrocket.com

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