Brooklyn Fashion Week dazzles

Lights. Camera. Fashion!

Brooklyn has a legacy of great fashion which is hip and edgy, and the spring and summer styles were on view during Brooklyn Fashion Week, held in Sunset Park at Industry City from October 2 through 5.

The theme this year was ‘Designs of the Times.’ People from all over gathered in Brooklyn to view the looks presented by designers who hailed from a variety of boroughs and countries, said Colleen Gwen Armstrong, Fashion Week Brooklyn media director, who proclaimed, “Brooklyn represents multicultural diversity in New York. All of the diversity you see any day.”

The collections featured were created by designers with origins spanning the globe, from France, Africa, Japan, Spain, Poland, Germany, and the Caribbean. There were also designers from the United States featured, and of course designers from New York and Brooklyn.

Some of the designers who presented their collections were Claire Consigny, Isabela Milan, Joyce Pilarsky, Anthony Rubio, Soka by Karen DeFreitas Fraser, Underground Market Clothing by Ken Shep, John Guarnes, and the students from William H. Maxwell High School. There were even eco-friendly designs and puppy couture.

Designer Karl Revis, saluted the idea of a Brooklyn Fashion Week, noting, “It’s good because it’s part of New York City, but Brooklyn has its own culture.” Revis has his own collection called Akari and said he will be showing his own line at Brooklyn Fashion Week in the future.

“I’ll be showing here next year. I started off doing a lot of custom orders and now I’m focusing more on menswear,” Revis explained. “It’s a good place for new designers to start out and launch their lines.”

Trends at the shows included: sparkle (sequins, jewels, glitter, feathers, beads) on garments and shoes, Dr. Martens boots, open backs on dresses, strappy frocks, bold lipstick and modestly cut shorts and tops.

Guest Will Silva remarked, “There are a lot of urban looks. I think it’s great.” Silva noticed current trends such as, “Graphic tank tops, which is interesting because you usually just see graphic tees.”

Revis described this season’s trends as, “Edgy, refined, street wear with high end fabrications.”

Brooklyn Fashion Week occurs every October and March.

Armstrong summed up, “It’s important we have Fashion Week in Brooklyn for all of the culture and diversity.”