Marta Bueno Arcos discusses New York Fashion Week and how KidSuper Studios’ runway show The People’s Runway features work from five emerging Brooklyn designers in a public runway show.
New York Fashion Week, with all its glamour, is full of fabulous celebrities and brands that carry household names such as Coach, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. New York can be predominantly associated with a life of glamour and luxury, paparazzi and runway shows. However, the big apples blocks are well known for one far less elitist fashion style roaming the sidewalks, and that's street style.
What better way to showcase the trendiest and latest fashion than to bring small local designers and their work to the runway? Dillane and Reynoso collaborated in the organisation of this Kidsuper open-air show at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza. This public access event was not only an opportunity for promotion of local talent, but also an opportunity for inspiration and representation. The curators of this show made the conscious decision to turn such an elitist event into something accessible to the general public, allowing young creatives who may aspire toward the fashion industry to see an upscale and professional event which highlighted designers of all ethnicities.
After an open call for designs, five up and coming creatives were chosen to showcase their pieces, this included;
Ahmrii Johnson, a Bahamian-American fashion designer whose work fuses Caribbean craft, botanical science, and indigenous heritage; Shriya Myneni, who enjoys experimenting across mediums, her silhouettes often emerge from deconstructed shapes; Daveed Baptiste, incorporative textile designer, who uses photography to explore themes of migration and cultural preservation within the Haitian community; Kent Anthony, an African American designer whose background in fine art and industrial design has helped him portray his cultural narrative through a luxury lens; and Rojin Jung, whose designs are rooted in a journey of self-discovery, resilience, and generational healing as a first generation American, whose parents are immigrants.
These five designers were presented with a $5,000 bursary to aid in expenses when creating the five looks per designer for this show. The compelling opportunity of a mentorship with Dillane was also offered to these creatives, so they could receive constructive criticism to perfect and prepare their work for the runway. Reynoso’s team managed all logistics, including models who also were found through an open call, hair and makeup, photography and the elements tied into the runway show's presentation.
The show was vibrant, bold, and unapologetically unique. It was the perfect blend of ready-to-wear street fashion and Brooklyn-based charm, sharpness and style.
This show highlights the importance of connecting young creatives with the financial and governmental support they need to carry out shows, and it has helped these five young designers obtain the platform to showcase their work and focus on what New York Fashion Week should really be about: not money, but passion.
KidSuper Studios’ created a show made by the people for the people. It brings the best of Brooklyn’s street style, multiculturalism and creativity into the spotlight, giving five emerging designers the professional platform to showcase their unique work and voices during one of the biggest and most famous fashion weeks in the world.