Don’t let the “New York” in New York Fashion Week (NYFW) fool you. NYFW is a global affair. Taking place every September and October, people from all over the world descend on the Big Apple to take a huge fashion-filled bite. The main events take place at Spring Studios in Lower Manhattan with flocks of models, influencers, stylists, and media types also converging on SoHo, Tribeca, and, more recently, Harlem. With fashion groundbreakers and history makers like Dapper Dan, April Walker, and Lana Turner to call its own, Harlem is no newjack to the fashion world. Between the Harlem Renaissance and the birth of hip hop, Harlem has used style as a conduit of creativity, validation, and representation to make a name for itself.
I kicked off my Fashion Week experience at Chase Bank on 125 Street at the “Diversity on the Runway: Panel Discussion + Fashion Mixer” presented by the mother-daughter duo, Tandra Birkett and Yvonne Jewnell, the creators of Harlem Fashion Week (HFW). The centerpiece attraction of the evening was a fireside chat featuring Nina Parker, the Emmy-nominated host and journalist who jumpstarted her career spilling the tea on TMZ and is now the current host of Friday Night Vibes on TBS. After enduring years of slim pickings and struggling to find anything fly on the racks in her size for her myriad red carpet hosting responsibilities, Parker launched her own saucy, size-inclusive fashion line, The Nina Parker Collection, and became the first Black woman to have a plus-size clothing line with Macy’s.
Nicole Parker photos
Two nights before her presentation on HFW’s runway at the Harlem School of the Arts, she sat, wearing all black in an open glass room, just a few yards away from the beeping ATMs, with a small group of Black folk eager to hear about her experiences as a plus-sized woman who made a name for herself and looked good while doing so. When asked why she chose Harlem as the place for her NYFW debut, the California native said: “I see women who look like me right down the street when I’m in Harlem, so I’m always going to gravitate to that … And I’ve said in the past I’ve been anti Fashion Week, so Harlem accepting me has felt like a hug.” She continued, “Instead of worrying about always being on top, I focus on being prepared … I made the decision to not put the keys of success in anybody else’s hands, but my own.”
Next up, the MMM Fashion Show. MMM stands for “Malcom Meets Martin,” which is also the name of the community block organization that serves West 120th Street between Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard) and Mt. Morris Park (which borders Marcus Garvey Park). This is the third year that the residents of this tranquil and tight-knit block have produced this massive experience centering community and culture right alongside clothes and couture. What makes this event so special is the level of accessibility—the presentation is free and outside, making it easy for anyone and everyone to attend, which is huge for fashion, still one of the most gatekept industries in the world. Secondly, many, if not most, of the people involved—from the models to the sound technicians to the make-up artists—were folks who live in the neighborhood.
Part block party, part fashion show, and part talent show, this year’s event featured 10 designers from the tri-state area, including some of Harlem’s finest, such as 5001 Flavors, Harlem American, and Thomas Heath, to name a few. MMM Fashion Show set out to delight all of our senses with food and drink (for VIP guests) and poetry and music during set breaks between presentations that featured spoken word artists, a rap performance by JSwiss, as well as a tap dancing number performed by Jabowen Dixon that would’ve made Gregory Hines proud. I heard that Dapper Dan was in attendance and spotted Vy Higginsen (Mama Foundation for the Arts), Lana Turner (fashion icon), DarDra Coaxum (HRLM Champagne), and Sharene Wood (Harlem Haberdashery) in the front row alongside the runway, which spanned more than half the block or approximately 300 feet. Just below the trees, the production crew created a canopy with white chiffon fabric that looked like a bridal gown train of pillowy clouds floating in the moonlit night sky. It may have been a DIY affair, but it felt grand—even magical.
Tressi Colon, one of three founders of the MMM Fashion Show shared, “When we first stepped out in 2023, this fashion show was simply a vision, an idea that one of our Co-Founders, Dr. Cheryl Smith, had to bring art, style, and culture right onto our open street. Now, three years later, we continue this fashion show because it’s more than just fashion. It’s about unity, creativity, and celebrating Harlem … Each year, we are reminded that when neighbors come together, we can create something extraordinary.”
In the middle of Cool Pig NYC’s presentation at the MMM fashion show, the power went out. The audience started clapping rhythmically and chanting “No music! No music!” creating their own beat and melody, allowing the models to still walk with a backing track. This is the beauty of fashion week programming that takes place in Harlem: The designs become vectors and the runways act as channels, all transmitting the incredible energy of a storied community that centers culture as resilience.