Harlem’s Fashion Row will continue its celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop at the 16th annual Fashion Show and Style Awards.
AT&T and Disney are the sponsors of this year’s celebration, which will take place on Sept. 5 at the Apollo Theater under the theme Remix in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The cocktail hour is from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the Fashion Show and Style Awards begin at 7 p.m.
Brandice Daniel, founder of Harlem’s Fashion Row, observed, “Hip-hop has made an impact on fashion that cannot be ignored. The designers and artists who pioneered the iconic looks that changed fashion in music deserve to be heralded. Our 16th anniversary celebration is our way of highlighting their contribution.”
Earlier this year, HFR kicked off the hip-hop celebrations with the launch of Fashion in Color — the first volume of a fashion book dedicated to designers of color such as style icon Dapper Dan and fashion pioneer Misa Hylton.
The Fashion Show and Style Awards will feature a showcase of the latest collections from designer Nicole Benefield, Aaron Potts and sustainable brand designer Megan Renee.
This year, HFR will be giving several Style Awards, such as Editor of the Year to Vogue’s global contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Stylists of Year to Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald, a Los Angeles-based styling duo that goes under Wayman and Micah. The Designer of the Year award will go to Stella Jean, an Italian fashion designer of partial Haitian heritage. Her designs reflect her Creole heritage and she frequently works with Haitian and African artists, incorporating their work into her fashion. Photographer Johnny Nuñez will receive a brand new distinction, the Hip Hop Trailblazer Award.
In addition, the Virgil Abloh Award presented by LVMH will be presented to a surprise honoree. This award pays tribute to Abloh’s enduring impact by honoring individuals who, like him, demonstrate remarkable contributions to culture, community and innovation while embodying his spirit and brilliance.
This year has been a busy one for HFR. In addition to the launch of Fashion in Color, the agency also launched HFR & Co. a new online shopping directory that supports designers of color. The decision to launch an online directory stemmed from a recent McKinsey report that revealed that Black consumers’ spending on apparel and footwear will increase by approximately 6 percent annually to $70 billion by 2030.
