Colm Dillane is the man of a thousand side-quests. The KidSuper designer seems to always be taking on a new thing—a collaboration, writing a play—yet this might be his greatest yet. Dillane is the first-ever Brooklyn Arts Ambassador—what that means, exactly, remains to be determined. Tonight at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall he gave New York Fashion Week a teaser: Dillane worked with five emerging design talents as a mentor, providing them with the space and supplies to work on capsule collections they presented on an outdoors catwalk dubbed The People’s Runway in front of guests including Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Ne-Yo, and A$AP Ferg.
“I went to high school like five blocks away, and I was always thinking there’s a disconnect between city funding and grants, sponsors, and all that stuff,” Dillane said pre-show, explaining that he’d often find himself wondering how people get those. Once Dillane met Antonio Reynoso, the equally ambitious Brooklyn Borough President, the wheels started turning. Dillane said he thought he could be, given his platform, a “conduit” between budding creatives and the city government. He put out an open call and, hundreds of portfolios later, he had a runway show to plan.
An integral part of the mentorship, Dillane said, was how designers could make their careers viable. Meaning, make the fashion they’re moved to create while making informed business decisions. He tapped a handful of his pals to assist, including the designer Mike Amiri, and to impart some wisdom while also giving these designers the tools and the platform to hopefully realize their aspirations. “I’ve done runway shows, and I’ve also done a lot of mentorship shit that didn’t actually help that much,” Dillane said. “The capital F fashion world kind of demands that you do runways,” he added. And thus he became the middle man between these designers and the opportunity to launch their careers.
The show got underway outdoors at Borough Hall with a handful of guests and many more onlookers (the runway was raised, which was a nice touch). Each of the five designers—Kent Anthony, Sheila Myneni, Rojin Jung, Ahmrii Lorraine, and Daveed Baptiste—showcased five looks. They have ideas and enthusiasm, the display of which made this a fun, wholesome evening.
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“Colm said he wanted to pay it forward, I know that the government should be working with everyone, but especially young upcoming designers from the great borough of Brooklyn,” Renynoso said after the show. Dillane remarked that this is the beginning of their partnership, which will surely reveal itself over time. But what a great way to start. “I’m going to end things with a quote by one of the greatest poets to ever grace the land of Brooklyn,” he continued, “His name is Christopher Wallace, but most people know him as the Notorious B.I.G. He said: “Spread love in the Brooklyn way.”
Scroll through to discover each collection.
