Harlem Fashion Week Shines Light On Diverse Group Of Designers

HARLEM, NY — Harlem Fashion week is featuring a diverse group of designers from all around the world during its upcoming fifth season. The event, an Uptown-centric alternative to New York Fashion Week, will hold its runway show Sept. 8 at the Museum of the City of New York.

Harlem Fashion Week's showcase will feature 20 designers that reflect the event's theme "fashion with a purpose," organizers said in a press release. This year's event will explore how Harlem serves as a bridge between Africa and America as a mecca of black culture.

"[Harlem Fashion Week] is developing a Global Fashion Market with local interest in the Harlem Community. [Harlem Fashion Week] will be an explosion of culture that will bridge the Downtown fashion hub to the Uptown vibe," reads a press release.

Featured designers such as Adama Paris, Alhassan Toure and Banni Peru will exhibit Harlem Fashion Week's commitment to bringing and international flair to this year's show. Paris, born in Senegal, is the founder of Dakar Fashion Week and her fashions reflect both her African roots and her European education. Ghanaian-born Toure began his fashion career as a tailor on 125th Street in Harlem and has since designed fashions for celebrities such a P. Diddy, Chris Brown and Swizz Beatz. Peru, the only American-born of the three featured designers, is becoming a popular name in hip-hop fashion and designs for Harlem-born entertainer Teyana Taylor.

Each featured designer will headline a show at the Museum of the City of New York on the night of Sept. 8. The three shows are scheduled for 6:15, 8 and 9 p.m.

This year's show will also feature the return of Harlem Fahsion Week's emerging designer competition. Five guest judges will crown one up-and-coming designer the winner, but all the young designers who participate will have the opportunity to showing off their creations.

Harlem Fashion Week will culminate with a Sept. 22 summit at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, organizers said in a press release. The summit will shine a light on the designers, photographers, models, stylists all others involved involved in Harlem's independent fashion community.

Photo courtesy Harlem Fashion Week