FWB, Night 1, Kicks off with a Bang!

Huge thanks to Shanise Gibson for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! Shanise Gibson is a aspiring freelance photographer born in Brooklyn, New York. Known her constant love of being a “Free Spirit” & never passing by the word “Free” it self, she has taken in all knowledge given to her to soon make a name for herself in the world of photography.

Night 1 for Fashion Week Brooklyn, simply put, there was no better way to kick off this multi-day event of runway shows! There was so much going on, so much to take in. You could not have walked away disappointed. This 1^st night was all about eco-fashion. The various looks were eco-friendly, highly innovative. There was a little something for everyone, the ladies, the gents, and even the kids! In fact, several designers were actually kids or teenagers. I will cover those young talents in a separate post, but for now let’s focus on some stunning pieces that graced the runway at Industry City, home of FWB! First up, a designer who is all about the volume, high fashion couture, Tom of Sohung Designs!

These pieces are highly original & one of a kind. They are hand-made right in NY! While creating some very fashionable pieces for women, he also puts out menswear looks too.

The pieces are certainly eye-catching. The play on volume & draping is effortlessly and elegantly done.

I love the balance and interplay between hard and soft elements. The end result is a strong, statement-making look.

This is a great showing for Sohung Designs. What’s been created here is stunningly unique. It’s quite fitting to grace the red carpet or formal affair.

Switching from high fashion looks of bold red carpet style, let’s check out some other great looks, but of a more understated nature – Lisbeth Lovbak Berg of Norway. The brand’s aesthetic is based on the idea of conceptual ecology and has a clear vision of slow fashion, with focus on high quality tailoring and an ecological and ethical message.

“One topic that reappears in my work is the question of how we see clothing. I find the link between the habitat and clothing, (habit, in French) particularly intriguing. Clothing is in in the most basic sense something to cover and protect us from the outside environment; this is the same basic quality as that of a house. Yet the durability that one associates with a house strongly contrasts the ephemeral aspects of clothing and fashion. ”

Berg makes use of a great print here – basic neutral solid backdrops with cranes. It’s utilized well across several styles and silhouettes, and is hand silk screen printed on organic cotton and bamboo.

“The CONSTRUCTION spring/summer collection is inspired by appearance as a construction, how we construct our image through clothing and how this image is only one piece in the puzzle that is who you are.”

Some of the pieces combine this subtle print with a tougher piece of outerwear, a denim embellished vest, use of recycled denim.

Berg’s use of color is also great here. There is a lot of white and neutrals in that of pale blue, but there is a great pop of color with that of soft peach. This is a great showing lovely, yet simplistically minimal.

Softer, more delicate presentations are great to watch and certainly can leave a lasting imprint. But sometimes the effect is a bit more in your face. With Repurposed/Reused, the looks are bold and dramatic. They knew how to put on a SHOW, drama & all!

There were looks for both women and men, basics in solids to louder pieces with dynamic prints.

This was a strong showing, very tough, hard looks that promoted strength and confidence from within the wearer.

The looks were all so well thought out, from head to toe. The styling was spot on and Repurposed didn’t disappoint.

There was so much versatility and lots to chose from, dresses to separates.

These varying streetwear looks for this S/S 2015 collection also have an underlying military inspiration, tribute to veterans.

Repurposed/Reused was clearly inspired and there were many other inspiration-filled collections for Night 1 of FWB, such as Iliana Quander, and her culturally inspired and diverse collection for S/S 2015.

Iliana’s looks are bold, statement-making, very unique, one-of-a-kind.

There are also very dynamic and eye-catching looks for the gents as well!

And topping off the “something for everyone” collection, Iliana also offers something for the youngins’! Must give props to this little tyke, she knew how to work the runway! And if I’m not mistaken, I think it was Iliana’s daughter??

This collection was so dynamic, very versatile. There was a great interplay with softer looks, such as with delicate flowers.

The softer side was juxtaposed nicely with stronger, more confident looks with that of structure and leather pieces. This was a stunning presentation, job well done!

Last up for this first post on FWB is Bridgett Artise for Born Again Vintage, with some truly modern twists on classic styles!

These pieces will for sure leave your mind to wonder! They are so amazing, stunningly eye-catching, with lots of intricacies to keep your attention!

Bridgett is all about being vintage, creating sustainable fashion. She pulls clothing from second-hand stores in order to deliver unique pieces, thus finding her passion with vintage!

As Bridgett perfectly describes, this is upcycling, not recycling! There is such a contemporary, hip, chic vibe to the various looks.

The looks are so cool, so different, any fashionista would be set in wearing any of these looks!

Additional Event Details

Executive Director – Abby Wallach
Creative Director/Producer – Rick Davy
Operations Director – Gregory Hutchinson
Media Director – Colleen Gwen Armstrong
Legal – Golding & Associates
Key Style Team – Erica Bradford & Christina Edwards
Models Casting Director – Jerry Jordan & John Thao
Beauty Team Coordinator – Tiffany Coates
Key Make-up – Kennetta Vaughn
Key Hair – Aisha Robley
House DJ – DJ Flyy Girl
Model Agency – BK Rebels

Additional event sponsors & information –

Scent the Runway – creating luxurious scents for runways around the world, now you can expierience right at home
Klust Creative – Branding & Identity, Website Development, Internet Marketing & more.
Davelly Model Management – We are Fashion. We are Couture.
Hybrid Branding
Clique by Roble – The 1^st fragrance recipe by Chef Roble Ali
Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering — Set Director for FWB

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style — Fashion Director for FWB
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design — Graphic Artist/Designer, Eric Lucas of EM Design
Akaria Apparel
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Avitto Shoes NY
Bespoke Atelier
Solis Magazine
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions — Sound director for FWB
Levy Lighting NYC — Lighting director for FWB

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

Again, huge thanks to Shanise Gibson for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! She also enjoys snapping away at conventions, festivals, concerts & whatever else catches her eye.