KidSuper fans were all abuzz when they saw the brand listed on the official CFDA calendar for New York Fashion Week. Sorry to disappoint, but the brand will continue to show in Paris next season.
However, Colm Dillane, KidSuper’s founder and designer, will still be involved in New York, working with his home borough of Brooklyn on The People’s Runway.
The show will take place outside of Brooklyn Borough Hall on Sept. 14 at 8 p.m., and will feature the work of five emerging Brooklyn-based designers. Dillane, who also wears the hat of Brooklyn Arts Ambassador, worked with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to select the designers. Together, they reviewed hundreds of applications and whittled the list down to five.
The designers who will be featured are Ahmrii Johnson, a Bahamian American designer and artist whose work fuses Caribbean craft, botanical science and Indigenous references; Daveed Baptiste, an immigrant from Haiti who explores themes of migration and cultural preservation within the Haitian community; Kent Anthony, an African American designer whose work offers new perspectives on luxury Black creations; Rojin Jung, who explores his heritage as a child of immigrants, and Shriya Myneni, an Indian native who explores deconstructed and reconstructed forms.
In addition to the show, the designers are also receiving mentoring from Dillane.
“The People’s Runway is about celebrating the artistry and identity that is embedded in every corner of our borough,” Reynoso said. “Across Brooklyn, emerging fashion designers are designing as a way of storytelling, creating garments that encapsulate the experiences of their families and their neighborhoods. I am so grateful for the opportunity to spotlight a few of these incredible creatives here at the People’s House, Brooklyn Borough Hall. Thank you to Colm Dillane, our inaugural Arts Ambassador, for bringing his industry expertise to up-and-coming artists across the borough.”
“I am so excited to be the inaugural Brooklyn Arts Ambassador,” Dillane added. “Part of that role, for me, was about making something very real and tangible. As someone who has created his brand from Brooklyn, received mentorship from other organizations, and worked with many different brands along the way, I think I have a great perspective on what can really help a young creative in New York City. I believe this runway experience is more powerful than the participants even realize. I am looking forward to seeing what they make and what comes from this.”
The People’s Runway will be open to the public with tickets distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis that evening.