2 days ago
The theme of this year's Juneteenth Festival fashion show is resilience. Here's how it's inspiring designers.
The 16th annual Juneteenth Festival in New York City takes place Saturday.
The theme for this year's Juneteenth New York fashion show is resilience, and designers are incorporating colors of the Juneteenth flag. Models will strut the runway in colors that represent resilience and strength.
It takes the organizer a full year to plan all the intricacies that go into making the Juneteenth Festival a success. Each year, designers are tasked with presenting their interpretation of the theme.
This year's theme is resilience
"The legacy of resilience this year has really been about what are the things we've experienced in the past, how have we grown into where we are today. Whether it's about education, or our cultural history, and all of the arts that are what we are," Juneteenth NYC founder and CEO Athenia Rodney said.
Designer Ewan Richards' signature is mud cloth. It goes through a very intensive, intricate process.
"To me it's a luxury cloth," Richards said. "To create any dye, you have to use natural resources like sticks, stems, stones, mud. They leave it in a cellar for about a day, then it comes out with these bright colors."
A model wears a reversible dress by Ewan Richards.
CBS News New York
Each of Richards' pieces is stylish, comfortable, and can be worn interchangeably.
"Anything you wear is going to be comfortable the way you want it, it's going to look how you want it, feel how you want it," Richards said.
The versatility of the clothing is a nod to how the Juneteenth Festival is embracing fashion freedom.
"People who have come through a lot and gone through stages of pain onto victory," Oluwapo said.
For the second year, CBS News New York is partnering with Juneteenth NYC to highlight culture and community. You can see us at our Pop-Up Newsroom Saturday at Gershwin Park in Brooklyn.
