Fashionistas Flock to Brooklyn

By SOPHIE DWECK

High fashion, like many other things cultural and social, may be crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.

A press conference was held at Brooklyn Borough Hall Thursday to announce the selections of designs for next spring and summer to be previewed at Fashion Week Brooklyn, beginning October 1.

Founded in 2006 by the non-profit organization, Brooklyn Style Foundation, the bi-annual international collection show has been showcasing the talent of many designers across the globe.

And although New York Fashion Week has already ended for the showcasing of new collections of the Highline, international designers, it’s only just started for some aspiring and established designers.

“I started Fashion Week Brooklyn because after being a stylist for so many years and being in the industry, I figured since I lived in Brooklyn, Brooklyn has so much fashion and style,” Ricky Davy, Founder of the Fashion Week Brooklyn told Brooklyn News Service. “We need to bring what’s in Manhattan to Brooklyn.”

In 2014, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams formally endorsed Fashion Week Brooklyn as the “official” Fashion Week of the borough.

Four designers showed off two of their newest designs on their models, giving a hint of what’s to come.

“The whole idea of our show is to discover new talent,” Davy said. “We give them an opportunity to show us their designs that they wouldn’t get to show at other venues.”

One of designers was South Korean born and New York based, Lissa Koo. She spoke about her new designs for clothing brand, “saku new york,” which combines both the chic New York and the easy, breezy West Coast atmosphere.

“The SS17 theme is called, Link,” she told Brooklyn News Service. “I got inspired by how every creature has some kind of connection.”

For the past 10 years, the group has supported many charitable organizations such as Soles4Soles Foundation, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Denim Day NYC, and more. It also has been vocal about social issues like human rights and poverty.

Queens-based designer, Tyran Marquis, showcased two new bleached and stained denim designs from his “Under Pressure” line, which is supposed to embody the feeling of being a minority.

“My line is based around turmoil, destruction, and poverty,” he told Brooklyn News Service. “Since what we’re going through with police brutality, I wanted the bleach to symbolize that on nicely done clothes.”

The public will get to meet the designers as well as view their collections, October 5 at Macy’s Herald Square.