Harlem Fashion Week is Still Exhibiting Creativity

By Journalist Ms. Jones

HARLEM – “Creativity During Covid” was the theme for this Harlem Fashion Week which was held February 5th, 6th, and 9th at the Kente Royal Gallery in Harlem. While models normally “rip the runway,” producers of Harlem Fashion Week had to “pivot” due to Covid-19 and produce smaller, “fashionably safe” events rather than huge fashion shows with hundreds of attendees that celebrated not only Fashion Week, but Black History Month. They opened Fashion Week with a Cocktail Reception and fashion photography exhibit titled, “Capturing the Black Experience in Fashion” on February 5th. On February 6th, there was a
Fashion Show and Pop Up Shop where emerging designers were able to both show and sell their fashions.

“The goal… was it gives designers an opportunity to show their garments as well as sell their garments. In a traditional show, they don’t have the opportunity to sell on the spot. So, we wanted to do something different so that they were able to gain revenue,” said Tandra Birkett, mother of the powerhouse mother-daughter team that produces Harlem Fashion Week.

Patrons were encouraged to visit each designers’ table. Designers included: Tammy Vaughn of House of Vaughn and sisters Murielle, Ella, and Chris Foyou of Pop Origins. Mother-daughter designer team Bonjonia Belser and Chelanti Frazier of Miscellania Fashions specialized in plus-sized fashions.

“We mostly focus on plus size… I was plus-size my entire life growing up and there wasn’t that many options of clothes that I like. I just want to be able to help make better clothes in the future so other plus-sized people will have more choices,” said Frazier.

Designer Danielle Simone Williams of Simone’s Boutique sold handmade jewelry with pieces from all parts of Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Kenya.

“I just collect the beads and design them…That’s basically… one of the reasons why I do this… I’m proud of my heritage… I did the DNA. So, I’m from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegambia. So, this is the way I celebrate my multicultural heritage,” said Williams.

Designer Agyeman Senkyire of Adinkra Republic educates each customer about his socks, ties, masks, handbags, tie clips, and cufflinks that contain royal symbols and gives a portion of proceeds to charity.

“These are the Adinkra symbols from Ghana… The symbols, date back to 1876 and were designed for the royal family of the Ashanti kingdom… That’s how [they] distinguished themselves… who was Royal and who was not. But, then late in 1957 after Ghana gained its independence through Kwame Nkrumah, he released the symbols and made it available to the general public,” said Senkyire who says each symbol has a different meaning from freedom to perseverance to leadership to love to excellence to wisdom and has about 300 different symbols on his products. “We create a lot of employment through the socks. We give a lot back to the Alexa Miranda Initiative which is really to promote autism and mental health… In the month of October, we give 100% of our pink socks to women with breast cancer.”

Another vendor whose products had a special meaning was Gabriella Hurst of It’s Really You who was with her sister Rachel Hurst and sold body butter, scrubs, and oils.

“You got to put that ‘Touch Me All Over Body Butter’ all over your body… before you put on that fabulous outfit… You have to have skin that’s gorgeous… You cannot be ashy [on the runway],” said Gabriella who started out as a model for Harlem Fashion Week several years ago and is a survivor of domestic violence. “I was very depressed. Very tough time, feeling very insecure. So, I started making these scrubs… So, that’s what I want people to take from the skincare is to treat yourself, self-love. Don’t feel down and out… Make yourself feel good. Indulge… Whatever you got to do. Talk to yourself in that mirror, ‘You are beautiful. You are gorgeous.’ Take care of yourself… I was in a very dark place and I wasn’t feeling pretty. I wasn’t feeling good… I’m making it. It is helping me each day feel better… Now I’m in a better place.”

On Wednesday, February 9th, Harlem Fashion Week gave homage to the late Fashion Icon and Trailblazer Andre’ Leon Talley with the “Kaftan Couture” Exhibition. The culminating Fashion Week event will be The Children’s Model Pageant where someone will be crowned Lil’ Miss or Mr. Harlem Fashion Week on February 20th.

“We’re servicing the ages of 6 to 16, boys and girls. We currently have 18 students that we’re working with and we’re gonna have our culmination… at the Hilton Hotel in Fort Lee, New Jersey… We’re gonna have awards… We have an active wear component, we have an African garb component, and then we have an evening component… We’re gonna have judges and they’re gonna choose who they believe the winner is for the competition… We’re looking for presence, attitude, and how you know how to impress the audience,” said Nef Edwards, Program Director for Harlem Fashion Week Youth Fashion Academy. A portion of the proceeds for Harlem Fashion Week is used for sponsorship for kids who can’t afford to attend the Youth Fashion Academy.

Harlem Fashion Week was created in 2016 so that emerging designers could participate and not feel excluded.

“We wanted to say… let’s create a platform that actually supports other emerging designers like myself,” said Yvonne Jewnell, daughter of the powerhouse mother-daughter team that produces Harlem Fashion Week, who has roots in Harlem. “[We] just wanted to create an inclusive platform that celebrated designers of all backgrounds in the heart of Harlem, which is the mecca of black fashion.”

Harlem Fashion Week is a four-day event that is held bi-annually. For more information about Harlem Fashion Week, visit www.harlemfw.com.

Journalist Ms. Jones