With New York Fashion Week just around the corner, L’OFFICIEL has all the details on the official start to Fashion Month. Kicking off the week on Friday, Feb. 9 is Peter Do’s sophomore collection for Helmut Lang while Thom Browne will close out the week on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
But what about the up-and-coming labels and first-time additions to the official NYFW schedule? With more than 70 designers named on the preliminary CFDA calendar, there are young designers among the crowd stepping up this year.
L’OFFICIEL has rounded up a list of the best young designers to watch for this season at NYFW.
Bishme Cromartie
Bishme Cromartie, a Baltimore, Maryland native discovered his passion for fashion at the young age of eight-years-old when he began sketching his designs. With initial guidance in sewing from his aunt, he quickly progressed to using a sewing machine and started crafting garments. The rest was history.
Since starting his clothing line, Cromartie’s style has evolved into sexy, sleek, and luxurious. Cromartie was also featured on Project Runway Season 17 and won Project Runway All-Stars Season 20. Be sure to keep an eye out for Cromartie’s NYFW debut on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Câllas Milano
Made in Italy, this brand was inspired by the “chic and practical style of the Milanese,” Câllas Milano founders Marco Panzeri and Jan-Hendrik Schlottmann say in their mission statement. The ’70s-style clothes are patterned, cut, and sewn at the family-owned and operated Soncino factory, where Panzeri works with his mother. Schlottmann brings the entrepreneurial side to the label, being a German-born fashion executive with a deep knowledge of the luxury world.
Colleen Allen
At 19 years old, Colleen Allen created her label in hopes of finding her voice and vision for the future of fashion. She attended Parsons School of Design and also spent time working under Wes Gordon. Her menswear collections have previously been labeled as somewhat dystopian, with her 2020 collection being accompanied by exploring elements of a multiverse.
Jane Wade
Coining the mantra of “bridging the gap between workwear and office attire,” on the brand’s webpage, Jane Wade is a New York City-based contemporary womenswear designer. Her clothes, while incorporating traditional workwear techniques, have a risqué edge that certainly makes them NSFW. The label was recently featured in The Cut as a part of the growing “commuter-core” aesthetic.
Meruert Tolegan
Meruert Tolegen, a Kazakhstan native, immigrated to the United States at an early age and didn’t always have fashion as her career goal. After pursuing biology, she eventually shifted to fashion after being artistically inspired by spending time with her grandparents and taking ideas from their garden and house interior. In 2020, Meruert decided to begin creating her women’s line, before debuting in Paris two years later. The Fall/Winter 2024 NYFW shows will mark her runway debut in the Big Apple.
