Brooklyn Paper: No VIP Needed: Brooklyn’s Creatives Take The Runway For New York Fashion Week

Published In: Brooklyn Paper

Building on the success of its inaugural show in 2025, the “People’s Runway” returned to Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza on Sept. 12, transforming the public square into a vibrant runway spotlighting the bold and creative collections of five Brooklyn-based fashion designers.

Part of New York Fashion Week, the event became an instant cultural phenomenon last year and drew fashionistas, community members and celebs celebrating Brooklyn’s creativity and global cultural influence — the Brooklyn way, with no special VIP invitation required.

The fashion show is part of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s Arts Ambassador Initiative, which supports the borough’s vibrant creative community, mentors emerging artists, connects creatives with cultural institutions and expands access to the arts.

The Brooklyn Beep collaborated with Brooklyn’s first-ever Arts Ambassador, Colm Dillane — the creative mind behind KidSuper — to develop the event. The initiative aims to elevate emerging designers, help them “get their foot in the door” in an industry that is difficult to break into, and allow them to present their collections on a global stage.

“I wanted a culminating event to speak on arts in Brooklyn. And what we didn’t want to do was bring a bunch of established artists who aren’t from Brooklyn to come here and use the space,” Reynoso said. “So we talked about bringing five emerging artists from Brooklyn to be able to come on stage during New York Fashion Week, which I thought was deeply important.”

The Brooklyn Beep noted that the People’s Runway was the only NYFW event open to the public.

“Every other [NYFW] show is VIP, or you need to know somebody, or you got to be a part of the industry. So what you’re seeing here is 1000s of people that are going to show up to see a New York Fashion Week show for the first time, and we love that,” Reynoso said. “If you come to Brooklyn, you’ve got to do it for the Brooklyn people. You can’t come out here and only do it for exclusive VIP clients. Everybody’s VIP in Brooklyn.”

The crowd also got a surprise musical performance by music icons Wyclef Jean and Ms. Lauryn Hill at the end of the show — both wearing KidSuper designs — who dazzled the fashionistas with songs like “No Woman, No Cry” and the 1996 Fugees hit “Ready or Not,” celebrating 30 years since the release of the Fugees’ landmark 1996 album, “The Score.”

“Lauryn Hill being here,” Reynoso said. “She is one of my favorite rappers of all time.”

In June, Reynoso and Dillane launched an open call for emerging designers and, after reviewing hundreds of applications, selected Kuai Li, Lamin Rey Jaiteh, Laural Tiange Fang, Moses Aina and Roderick Reyes to showcase their collections.

In addition to a $5,000 grant from Borough President Reynoso, the designers also received matching funds from Converse and Cash App, totaling $15,000 for each designer. They also received mentorship from Dillane and other industry leaders leading up to the full-service fashion show, which included styling, hair and makeup, runway lighting and sound.

The designers wowed the crowd with their creativity, showcasing their collections for celebrities including Wale, Francisco Lindor, Fabulous, Ellie the Elephant, Beenie Man, Jim Jones, Lil Mama, Mark Vientos, Joey Bada$$, Wisdom Kaye, Serge Ibaka, Russ, Fivio Foreign, YG Marley, NLE Choppa, Huddy and more.

Li’s collection, “Tender Armor,” explored protection, vulnerability and the moment when quiet strength becomes visible. Jaiteh’s collection, “iDEK” (I Don’t Even Know), drew inspiration from a season of change, embracing the unknown and exploring the uncertainty that precedes transformation. Reyes’ collection, “Gettin’ Fly,” is a dialogue on modern survival and a critique of a broken system, playing on value, exploitation and capitalism.

Fashion designer Laurel Tiange Fang, founder of Laurel Blue, presented her collection, “Forms of Water,” a love letter to the ocean and an exploration of the relationship between human beings and the natural world. The Parsons graduate told Brooklyn Paper that she didn’t even know about the open call; her friend Ray submitted her application without her knowledge.

“He knew this existed, but he didn’t really want to let me down if I didn’t get selected, so he just [submitted my application], and he only told me after I got selected. I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Fang said, noting that the fashion show was a “fantastic” opportunity to get recognized. “Sometimes it can be very hard to get exposure for yourself. So I think Brooklyn has this platform to uplift emerging designers. I do feel very grateful, and I’m also like very happy that I’m part of it.”

Aina’s collection, “Legacy,” was inspired by her great-grandfather, President Sylvanus Olympio, Togo’s first president.

“I was inspired by how he not only thought about independence for the people of that country, but how he was also very good at striving for economic sovereignty from the French,” Aina said. “It really inspired me as his great-grandchild to be able to think about my own legacy.”

Colm Dillane, who also presented his fashion designs, told Brooklyn Paper that the brand had grown much bigger than he had anticipated, with one idea evolving into something bigger.

“I thought it’d be getting easier, and it’s not. It’s getting harder because our ideas get bigger, so maybe we’ve got to figure out how to streamline this,” Dillane said, noting that this year they added a surprise performance.

Fashionistas Busani and Bernard loved the concept of elevating designers who might not otherwise get the chance to present their collections to the world.

“I’m a photographer, so KidSuper inspires me with the art and creativity he brings. I flew all the way from Zimbabwe,” Busani told Brooklyn Paper. “This concept brings in people that will never have a chance outside of this; it gives room to everybody. It’s like a one-in-a-million chance [because] getting into fashion, it’s very difficult.”

Bernard shared that it was “wonderful” that the event was open to the public.

“The fashion industry is very inclusive. It’s very hard to get in; opening it up to the public definitely brings some excitement and definitely allows people to see the fashion world up close and firsthand,” he noted.

Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, and Rick Davy, founder and CEO of Fashion Week Brooklyn, were looking forward to seeing what Brooklyn’s “amazing” talent had in store.

Rainey said the event reflected Brooklyn Org’s mission to ensure the entire community could enjoy what Brooklyn has to offer.

“I am so excited that this is in Brooklyn, and I love that it is for Brooklyn residents; it is so fabulous. Brooklyn deserves it,” Rainey said. “It is the most populated borough, and to see so many Brooklynites here enjoying this day and being part of Fashion Week, which has always traditionally been about Manhattan, is amazing to me, and is so aligned with the things that we think about at BrooklynOrg.”

“It’s good to be doing this again in Brooklyn during New York Fashion Week. You can’t get better than that,” Davy said. “We own Brooklyn, and we bring in a little bit of New York Fashion Week to Brooklyn.”