By ERIC WILSON
Published: May 22, 2008
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Gasuza Lwanga of Gasuza Media
STILL GOLDEN A 1960s dress from Seasoned to Perfection.
IN the self-aggrandizing nature of fashion speak, the term “emerging designer market” is often employed to mask what to the average mind would be called a “crafts fair,” where the only key to entry is a hot glue gun and a sack of beads.
But if you happened to be among the 500 or so people checking out a temporary market last weekend at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem, you might have concluded, correctly, that the neighborhood has arrived as a fashion destination.
In the last year, Dane Huggins moved his popular shoe store, Head Over Heels, from Fort Greene in Brooklyn to 270 St. Nicholas Avenue at West 124th Street. Aissatou Ndao-Fiteni, a designer, opened a boutique called Aysa (aysaboutique.com), at 2310 Seventh Avenue at West 136th Street; it sells a mix of modern and traditional African fashions and witty handbags.
And Michelle Gittens and Enyinne Owunwanne, after leaving jobs in the financial industry, have started a Harlem-based collection called Seasoned to Perfection (s2pvintage.com), which repurposes vintage clothing into new styles. All were represented at the weekend market.
“There’s a lot of great Harlem businesses that people don’t know about,” said Ms. Gittens, who had worked for Lehman Brothers in real estate finance for five years before enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Ms. Gittens, in a belted vintage gray dress, and Ms. Owunwanne, wearing jeans she had altered with an orange tie at the back, organized the market to draw attention to what is happening in Harlem, as well as to spotlight designers from Brooklyn and New Jersey. They are planning another market in July. (For updates, visit uptownedm.com.)
Nearly all of the 40 companies selling designs on Saturday, and the 20 that had anything left to sell by Sunday, had an original concept. There was, for instance, Chalay (chalay.com), a T-shirt line with styles suited to the city’s cultural pride parades, with messages like “Puerto Rican for the Weekend.” And Brooklyn’s Cut It Out! Apparel (cutitoutapparel.com), offered T-shirt dresses, cut up at the neckline and hem, printed with messages meant to empower women. One was a succinct call to arms: “My name is not Shorty!”
Published: May 22, 2008
Enlarge This Image
Gasuza Lwanga of Gasuza Media
STILL GOLDEN A 1960s dress from Seasoned to Perfection.
IN the self-aggrandizing nature of fashion speak, the term “emerging designer market” is often employed to mask what to the average mind would be called a “crafts fair,” where the only key to entry is a hot glue gun and a sack of beads.
But if you happened to be among the 500 or so people checking out a temporary market last weekend at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem, you might have concluded, correctly, that the neighborhood has arrived as a fashion destination.
In the last year, Dane Huggins moved his popular shoe store, Head Over Heels, from Fort Greene in Brooklyn to 270 St. Nicholas Avenue at West 124th Street. Aissatou Ndao-Fiteni, a designer, opened a boutique called Aysa (aysaboutique.com), at 2310 Seventh Avenue at West 136th Street; it sells a mix of modern and traditional African fashions and witty handbags.
And Michelle Gittens and Enyinne Owunwanne, after leaving jobs in the financial industry, have started a Harlem-based collection called Seasoned to Perfection (s2pvintage.com), which repurposes vintage clothing into new styles. All were represented at the weekend market.
“There’s a lot of great Harlem businesses that people don’t know about,” said Ms. Gittens, who had worked for Lehman Brothers in real estate finance for five years before enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Ms. Gittens, in a belted vintage gray dress, and Ms. Owunwanne, wearing jeans she had altered with an orange tie at the back, organized the market to draw attention to what is happening in Harlem, as well as to spotlight designers from Brooklyn and New Jersey. They are planning another market in July. (For updates, visit uptownedm.com.)
Nearly all of the 40 companies selling designs on Saturday, and the 20 that had anything left to sell by Sunday, had an original concept. There was, for instance, Chalay (chalay.com), a T-shirt line with styles suited to the city’s cultural pride parades, with messages like “Puerto Rican for the Weekend.” And Brooklyn’s Cut It Out! Apparel (cutitoutapparel.com), offered T-shirt dresses, cut up at the neckline and hem, printed with messages meant to empower women. One was a succinct call to arms: “My name is not Shorty!”
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