Creatives Find Community in Brooklyn Bound Vintage’s 3rd Annual Upcycled New York Fashion Week Show

–Erica Marin Schwartz

A brick warehouse sits on a corner in Bushwick, neighbored diagonally by a large orange Cubesmart building and not much else. Save for a few printer paper-sized posters tacked on the walls outside and one A-frame chalkboard sign that reads “Brooklyn Bound Vintage,” there’s little reason for passersby to assume that in a few hours, this will be the site of a fashion show.

Now in its third year, Brooklyn Bound Vintage’s annual fashion show and market is one of the many New York Fashion Week events that have popped up outside of CFDA’s official schedule of shows. Held this year on September 13th, the show featured handmade and upcycled collections from eight designers that interpret the show’s theme “Fashion vs. Fantasy.”

The runway kicked off just after 6:35 p.m. with designs from Alexina Hobbs, known by her public persona and upcycled clothing brand, Pixie Pain. Hobbs says she created her Pixie Pain persona in 2017 as a coping mechanism for childhood trauma, and the concept of “fantasy” has always been a part of her brand. According to Hobbs, all her pieces are thrifted and reworked — save for her viral printed tights, which she has custom-made by a manufacturer and prints herself.

As the music began — an eclectic remix of songs from the title track of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” to David Bowie’s “As the World Falls Down,” spun by DJs from Dance for Soup — model Kiki Kramer peered out from behind the black curtain before emerging in an Alice in Wonderland-inspired ensemble. The look was created in collaboration with and sewn by Eden Lindy, known as tragedygirl.

While Pixie Pain has been churning out pieces for a few years now — “2022 or 2023. Could have been 2024. The years are blending together,” Hobbs said — other brands like Martgeaux are new to the scene. Margot Appleton, designer of Martgeaux, says she started the brand just under a month ago to provide punk and alternative pieces that aren’t “highly manufactured” at accessible price points. Appleton says she upcycles all her pieces, mostly utilizing spray paint and metalwork like spikes and grommets.

“There’s so much overconsumption with clothing and fabric and fast fashion and all that kind of stuff,” she said. “If I thrift this, its material has already had a life that I get to give a second life and kind of put into the community.”

Designer Karon Beale, known as Richsinner22, wove the show’s handmade element into his shared runway segment with fellow designer Earbuz. Beale spray-painted one model’s clothing as they reached the end of the makeshift runway, a moment reminiscent of Coperni’s Paris Fashion Week 2022 spray-on dress.

The runway also featured biology-inspired designs from Alki Studio, vampy looks from LVRGRL Studios and deadstock leather-derived ensembles from Carabosse.

L-R Alori Cerutti models a metallic ensemble from Carabosse, models wearing looks by Alki Studio. Photos ©Lena Demko 

And the fantastical fashion wasn’t reserved for those on the runway. Looking around at the filled chairs and layers of standing bodies, one could see attendees dressed in their interpretations of the show’s theme, donning layers of frills and elven ear prosthetics.

Attendee Hannah Hightman wore a thrifted pink gingham dress and a coordinating pink beret. The skunk hand puppet she animated with her right hand donned a similar dress — also purchased secondhand, of course. Hightman says they tend to find fashion week events intimidating, but this event seemed like the right place to meet “like-minded people.”

Nimi Shoyinka, a volunteer for the show, recently moved to New York after transferring from Northeastern University in Boston. She said she volunteered to work for the show to get involved with the New York fashion scene and network.

“It’s not just the luxury brands that you see a whole schedule post for,” she said. “[There are] events like these where it’s about promoting smaller designers and models and people who are trying to get their foot in the door.”

Ellie Ramnathasingh says she got involved with the show hours prior after styling Carabosse designer Masha Magdala’s hair in her job as a brand representative at Sephora, a recent pivot from her role as a zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. Ramnathasingh says she always had an interest in fashion, but it always felt out of reach — especially when it came to Fashion Week.

“There’s so many smaller designers and people who are just interested in fashion, whether it’s modeling or photography, [who] get to have a chance at doing something with their community,” she said. “I’m so glad that that’s an option now and especially that it’s accessible to so many people.”

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