Last night, on the evening of September 6th, Harlem’s Fashion Row [HFR] hosted its annual Style and Awards show. This year marked a milestone for Brandice Daniel, founder of HFR, as the organization celebrated 15 years since its inception. To kick off NYFW, the 15th Anniversary Fashion Show and Style Awards was hosted at the General Grant National Memorial in Harlem, with the support of LVMH, who acted as the title sponsor of the event.
The celebratory evening began with red carpet appearances from notable guests, including Bevy Smith, Erica Campbell, and Ty Hunter. Following a warm welcome delivered by Daniel, HFR hosted a runway show for guests to view the latest collections from Jonathan Hayden, Clarence Ruth, and Nicole Benefield. During the main event, HFR also announced this year’s Style Award recipients. In previous years, HFR has honored Ciara, Mikki Taylor, Law Roach, and Lebron James.
This year, HFR presented five special attendees with awards – including a new award created in partnership with LVMH dubbed The Virgil Abloh Award. Sergio Hudson was recognized as Designer of the Year, Robin Givhan received the Editor of the Year Award, Ade Samuel was named Stylist of the Year, and Janet Jackson received this year’s ICON of the Year Award.
To present the inaugural Virgil Abloh Award, HFR and LVMH welcomed Shannon Abloh to the stage to announce Issa Rae as the first recipient of the new award. “It is a true honor to be even seen in line with his mission,” Rae told Essence Girls United. “I know he was cut off way too soon. He had so much more to do, so to get that encouragement and that validation meant a lot.”
After an eventful ceremony, guests made their way to the official after-party at the Jazz at Lincoln Center for an even more exciting evening. Notable guests in attendance included Misa Hylton, April Walker, Janet Jackson, and many more. Attendees celebrated the overflow of Black excellence and danced the night away to live music from NYC legend Cam’ron.
Ahead, discover more images from Harlem’s Fashion Row’s 15th Anniversary Style & Awards Show.
