By Alexia Hill
Door after door of businesses on the streets of Soho, I almost walked right past it. Two girls were standing holding the door open, and even after walking in I felt just as lost as I was on the streets of Manhattan. That is until one of them turned her attention to me and said, “Are you here for the fashion show?”
G-Gallery, located at 404 Broadway in Manhattan, is on the second floor of a multifunctional building space including a spa, other studios, and boxing classes on the lower ground floor. Once the door for the gallery was opened, the once-typical art gallery was transformed into an experiential, personal fashion show experience. This is Revive Fashion Week, produced during the height of New York Fashion Week (NYFW).
Revive Fashion Week hosted six independent designers on Sept. 8, broken down into three different showcases throughout the day. The company described itself as a “content-driven fashion week platform catering to the independent fashion industry” according to its Instagram.
“I’ve been producing shows for a few years for another platform, and what I realized is that everyone is a little stand-offish, no one cares about each other,” Producer of Revive Fashion Week, Sharon O’Donnell said. “So I created this platform to create a community and really create a safe space not just for designers, not just models but really anyone looking to establish themselves career-wise in the fashion industry. To have the opportunity to network, look cute, feel cute and not just at shows, but before and after as well.”
In only its second season of shows, Revive Fashion Week did just that with some finesse. Upon arrival, you’re greeted by a photo wall and one of the coolest vendor tables by Moon Rox, a tooth gem technician and jewelry designer. Her table was adorned with shells, spikes, chains, pearls, tooth gem diamonds, and hand-made printed business cards, each one of one and some embellished with glitter. Other vendors featured were clothing brand Le Muse Studios and bartending service Spiked Delights.
The show opened with pieces from Built By Stacy, who created an offbeat, but classy take on the simple black and white garments. The opening dress was a vertical striped black and white body-con dress with accompanying fringe on each side.
“The collection is called Ink and Ivory, it’s about getting back to classics and nothing is more classic than black and white,” designer Stacy Hogan said. “I’m trying to make sure that my brand is all-inclusive when we have plus-size designs, it’s not just naked it’s not just body positivity, but its body positivity along with couture, so the gowns you see on every standard body you can see on a plus-body.”
This collection was contrastingly followed by Girls Chronically Rock clothing, filled with killer graphic tee shirts and styling that mixed pink, pearls and rock-n-roll energy to create a collection of feminine badassery.
Najila Raquel brought all colors of the rainbow to the runway. And silhouettes. And textures. These designs used high slits, feather trimmings, and swirling patterns using yarn to create funky, but sexy looks that complement the figure. She Drippz continued the trend of sexy, and brought it up a notch! A New York-based, handmade fashion collective of Dana Lynn and Mariah Amado, used pops of color, geometric prints, shiny spandex, and criss-cross tie-back details to create flattering flowy sheer dresses and cheeky lingerie. A personal favorite was the first look, a purple pink, black and white bikini with a matching floppy, oversized sun hat. Jhomé Apparel brought it back with neutrals and a range of ready-to-wear pieces, some more sexy, others more conservative.
“My main thing honestly is to just own your confidence and your individuality, I do that myself with all my clothes, it’s how I express myself,” Jhomé Apparel designer Jasmin Bogues said. “I also don’t want people to feel as though whatever they wear defines their personality. It’s all about owning your individuality and taking your power back.”
Revive Fashion Week closed out with approximately 50 looks, all created by Fayah Fashion House, including men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, swimwear, and athletic wear.
With Revive’s emphasis on supporting the community, it’s important to realize that sold-out seasons back-to-back would not be possible with the production team behind it all.
Hair artist Brooke Tomczak-Zuniga flew in from Scottsdale, Arizona to assist in hair, and makeup artist Mia A. Keith came from Atlanta to ensure the models looked their best for the runway.
“Today was awesome, it was my first New York fashion show. It was very intense, there were a lot of faces, but the energy was great,” Keith said. “We had a great team that worked well together, everyone was very hands-on and helpful. It was a lot of teamwork and for the most part the models all had good energy so it was a good day.”
Makeup artist Rebecca Arnold flew in all the way from Ireland, not intending on doing makeup for Revive Fashion Week when she arrived in New York for holiday. But fate just happened to align that she was in the US for NYFW.
“I’ve only done shows at home, I’ve never had the opportunity to do anything here…I seen that NYFW was on, so I was like ‘Why not apply?’” Arnold said. “It’s been a great day. It was intense but I thrive off that quick pace environment but everyone’s energy was so good, it gets you through it. You get to meet so many people and people that have a passion and creative side as well so it’s all really rewarding.”
The next Revive fashion show will be on Oct. 20 in Los Angeles, in the midst of LAFW. This will be their second season in LA, according to O’Donnell.
“We’re releasing a whole tour for 2024, and I’m hoping for more sold-out events. I’ve had three sold-out seasons so far and it’s just been such a blessing because this is my first year in business for myself. So more cities, more tickets, more designers, more people, more everything.”
For more information, visit Revive Fashion Week’s website or their Instagram page.
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