Harlem Fashion Week Brings Haute Couture Uptown

Photo via Yvonne Jewnell Designs Facebook page

High fashion comes to Harlem in a big way this fall.

Harlem Fashion Week takes place Sept. 7 to 10 and the event's co-founders, Yvonne Jewnell and Tandra Birkett, are looking to shine a light on all of the great designers working in the neighborhood.

"It's an opportunity for us to build a platform," Jewnell told Patch. Describing the collaborative spirit of the event, Jewnell said that "everyone has continued to work together."

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In addition to support from the city of New York, a wide variety of neighborhood institutions, from the Harlem Business Alliance to East Harlem resident and Project Runway designer Viktor Luna, are joining in on the fun.

Jewnell studied at the School of Fashion at Parsons and has gone on to feature her designs at shows around the world from the Caribbean to London.

The festivities kick off on Sept. 7 at the Hamilton Landmark Galleries with an opening night gala centered on the theme of 21st century Harlem Renaissance.

There will be a symposium on the business of fashion on Sept. 8 at the Harlem State Office Building Gallery. It will feature "both established and emerging fashion and beauty industry professionals to develop a supportive network to learn the strategies that will elevate their business to the next level," according to a press release from Harlem Fashion Week. Designers, stylists, bloggers, models, editors, photographers and anyone else interested is encouraged to attend.

The fashion show itself will take place in Spanish Harlem at the Museum of the City of New York on 103rd St. and Fifth Avenue and there will be a closing reception on Sept. 10 at Cherie in Harlem.

"Harlem is very rich in culture," Jewnell said, summing up the energy of the event. "We want to celebrate it."

For more information, visit harlemfw.com.