Five Brooklyn Designers Show on Official New York Fashion Week Calendar
Five Brooklyn-based designers have shown on the official New York Fashion Week schedule in a second-year outdoor showcase presented by KidSuper founder Colm Dillane. Each showed five looks, industry term for five finished outfits. The five were Kuai Li, Lamin Rey Jaiteh, Laurel Tiange Fang, Moses Aina and Roderick Reyes, according to Women's Wear Daily.
Four arrived with named projects attached. Li is linked to Quine Li, Jaiteh to Rey Jaiteh, Fang to Laurel Blue and Aina to Igbo-Sisun. Reyes showed under his own name.
Hundreds applied. The five were chosen from an open call, an open invitation for designers to submit work for consideration, issued earlier in the summer. That path is unusual in fashion, where a place on the calendar often requires a showroom, private funds or industry contacts.
Each of the five received a grant of USD 5,000. They also received direct mentorship from Dillane and leading industry figures, practical guidance on making and presenting a collection. They then developed their work for the official calendar, the recognised list of shows that makes up New York Fashion Week, the twice-yearly series where designers present new collections to buyers, press and the public.
The show was staged outdoors at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza. No closed hall. The audience watched in a civic square, with the borough's administrative building as the backdrop.
The borough's office lists the event under its formal title, The 2026 People's Runway. It describes the edition as co-presented by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, the borough's elected representative, and Dillane, who served in connection with the project as Brooklyn Arts Ambassador, according to the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.
What makes this stand out is the scale. Five looks is small. It keeps production costs contained while still giving each designer a complete mini-collection that can be photographed, credited and worn. For fans, this means five new names to follow, without needing to know how wholesale, selling to shops that resell, or direct-to-consumer, selling straight to shoppers, works.
