Last night I had the pleasure of joining a room full of amazing brown people at Harlem’s Fashion Row Awards and Runway show. This was my first time attending the event, but it will not be my last. As a firm believer and supporter in diversity and supporting multi-cultural initiatives it really felt good to be in a space with like minded individuals in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle arenas. Although there can be a negative connotation when it comes to platforms such as this for logistical reasons, it was a solid and honorable show.
As someone who has worked in the media industry for over ten years in various capacities and assisted with the front and back end of producing several fashion shows, I do wish the check-in, seating and set up were a bit more conducive to this amazing event. In my opinion, those items started off a bit rocky. From my understanding, this was the first time the show was produced in this particular space, which makes sense. I believe that everyone in attendance should be focused on the mission of this event, as well as, the motivational speeches, and beautiful runway show and not be distracted for any reason with the glitches beforehand.
Now moving on, as mentioned, this was my first time attending this event and let me also add that it was a last minute RSVP on my end, but I am glad I was in attendance. There was a huge take away for me from the distributing of the awards to the impeccable talent that was showcased in various ways on the runway. This week in particular I find myself reflecting a lot on what I deem success, how important it is for me to be around reflections of who I am/who I ultimately want to be and focusing more on my wins instead of my losses. It was refreshing to hear admirable people in the industry shed light on the honorees accomplishments. It was refreshing to see brown people acknowledge people before them, acknowledge themselves and acknowledge people who continue to support their growth. It was refreshing to see a showcase of talented designs grace the runway by designers who are finally able to get the break they deserve. Lastly, it was refreshing to be in a space where everyone in the room supports the multi-cultural movement and they themselves continue to strive to achieve their own greatness (at least that’s the hope). There were so many positive words being thrown around during the speeches that I can’t imagine anyone would walk out of the room wanting to do or be anything less than successful and their best self.
Overall, the Harlem Fashion Row platform is moving into its 10th year and I am extremely proud of their accomplishments. To provide a platform for creatives when their wasn’t one and to continuously keep building from that is a movement that I definitely want to be part of. We all should be honestly.
Visit the pages below for more information about HFW, Award recipients and designers.
Honorees: Elaine Welteroth / Kyle Hagler / Eric Archibald / Swizz Beats
Designers: Terese Sydonna (Terese Brown) / Lois London (Radhika Perera-Hernandez) / Kahindo (Kahindo Mateene) / JRU (Jakai Franks)
Did you attend the show? What were your thoughts?