SoHarlem, Inc. designer incubator hosts first New York Fashion Week runway show

NEW YORK — This New York Fashion Week, one runway features a special showcase of creations coming out of one Harlem studio. SoHarlem, Inc. supports several small business owners, looking to break through with their own brands. 

SoHarlem, Inc. helps cultivate creatives

Threading the needle to deliver designs in time, artisans occupying the SoHarlem, Inc. space spent their final week fine-tuning lustrous looks.

Javier Valencia spent decades designing for major fashion houses before branching out for himself five years ago, launching a brand bearing his name.

“I kind of took a little bit of each one and then I made it my own, and this is the product,” Valencia said, gesturing to sparkling bodysuits and gowns.

Each stitch meticulously made, Valencia is emboldened by the elegant embroidery of his former boss, Fabrice, now bringing his own flair for beading to designs you might describe as cultural couture, incorporating collages from his friend Carlos Nazario.

The workspace may look like a “Project Runway” studio, but instead of the cutthroat competition, designers are all about collaborative creations.

Olivia Smashum’s Blue Olive brand offers Nigerian textiles that suit every shape, accompanied by accessories her cohort Donna Drew crafts.

“I have access to different creatives who come with different perspectives, different experiences,” said Smashum, “and the beauty is, is that everybody wants to work together.”

That was founder and CEO Janet Rodriguez’s idea when she established the collective in 2011, as part of a greater effort to revitalize the Manhattanville Factory District.

“So much fashion has come out of here, so many styles,” Rodriguez said, “and that’s still very much part of Harlem.”

SoHarlem, Inc. prepares for first NYFW runway show

More than a dozen designer lines will be on display for SoHarlem, Inc.’s first fashion show. The incubator space allows the entrepreneurs to share expenses, while cultivating creatives through an academy that teaches neighbors to sew.

“Those days of one designer having an atelier are just out of reach and not realistic, quite frankly, in this day and age,” Rodriguez explained.

The fashion show will be followed by a three-day pop-up shop, for you to purchase a piece of Harlem for yourself.

The SoHarlem, Inc. fundraiser fashion show starts at 5 p.m. Thursday at Harlem Gallery in the Mink Building on West 127th Street. The pop-up shop will stay open in the same space through the weekend.

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