How Brooklyn’s creators kicked off New York Fashion Week

By Cole Habersham

With the official New York Fashion Week February schedule kicking off last Friday, the city has leveled up in activity, intention and style, calling on Brooklyn’s best-dressed to put on their NYFW best. To some this week is about work — previewing and covering Fall/Winter collections, cozying up with brands, influencers and the most powerful people in the world: the clipboard-laden New York PR rep. This week is also about fun: reuniting with friends during what is to many a bi-annual reunion. And perhaps most universally, it’s about looking good, feeling good and documenting it all on Instagram, TikTok and, if you’re lucky, the dozens of street style roundups hitting the interwebs this week.

We caught up with five Brooklyn style mavens to see how they kicked off the week’s activity and what’s ahead for them style-wise this year.

Photo by Reagan

Kelsey Kotzur is a Williamsburg-based Content Creator equally known for her cozy, elevated fits — which often incorporate varying shades of green — and her life generally. The internet knows her “little freaks,” Kotzur’s devious cat duo Pablo and Gigi, solo adventures across Europe, and well-documented return to Brooklyn after a self-imposed upstate sabbatical. This week though, her content leans heavy into fashion, as Kotzur runs from show to presentation to dinner to event and repeat.

How did you start your morning?
I started the morning with a fitting with PH5. I love their designs and felt so lucky to be able to pull from their showroom. I’ll be attending their show this coming Saturday.

What was on the agenda this afternoon?
I shot with a photographer in the afternoon. We shot three looks around my hotel. Yes, I booked a hotel in SoHo because it’s very expensive to get back and forth from Williamsburg. It’s also so helpful with quick outfit changes!

And how about the evening?
In the evening I attended my first show of the evening: the L’Ageance presentation. After that my manager and I went to Afterpay’s NYFW RunwayX cocktail party at the Highlight room. We left the cocktail party and got dinner at Wayla. Headed back to the hotel for a quick change for the Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb Party but sadly we weren’t able to get in. We waited on line for about an hour before we decided to go get a nightcap and catch up on some much needed sleep.

What’s the one thing you need to survive fashion week?
My headphones. I really love listening to music to help with my nerves and social anxiety. Music really helps calm me down.

What trend are you planning to adopt this fall/winter?
Oversized accessories. I’ve been loving bigger bags, chunkier shoes and statement necklaces.

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Photo by Jason Bates

Malik Lindo-Ireland is better known by his nightlife persona, King Lindo. Since picking up DJing in 2020, he’s become one of the most sought-after curators of vibes, people and music. His signature sound is a blend of disco, house and hip-hop music, while his signature look includes a crown (often red), suggesting real royalty sits behind the booth.

How did your morning start?
My morning started beautifully. I woke up, the sun was shining, and I had slept great the night before. The weather always has an effect on my mood, and for the second week in February, it was unusually good. I decided to check out a new spot for breakfast in my neighborhood, Cafe Madeline, and the food was absolutely delicious. I then walked to Prospect Park where I meditated and enjoyed some peace before the craziness of the day began.

It wasn’t long before my phone began buzzing with friends, hitting me up to add more names to the guestlist [for an event] I had been working on. I was throwing my second annual VibesXLindo #NYFW edition event that evening [at Public in SoHo].

What was on the agenda this afternoon?
After the park I got ready to head to the city where I met up with a good friend of mine to film us both getting laser hair treatments done for his YouTube channel. I started getting treated a couple years back when I started getting really bad scarring on my face and neck due to ingrown hairs after shaving.

After my appointment which was Midtown I then headed down towards Soho where I met up with Dillon, another good friend of mine that would be hosting the table at my event that evening. We discussed the timing of the evening, and anyone that might’ve been missing from the guestlist that should’ve been on there/any last minute invites that needed to be sent out. I wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly.

And how about the evening?
The evening was a whirlwind! I met some friends for a nice and intimate dinner around 8 in the West Village. By 9:30 I had to head over to the Public Hotels rooftop ‘MICROCLUB’ to make sure ‘wo0sik,’ the first DJ, was all set up and good to begin playing for a 10 p.m. start. Once he was good to go, I rushed downstairs to the other venue ‘Under Public’ and texted my friend that works at Calvin Klein to see if he could meet me at the door. They were having another fashion week event downstairs and I wanted to stop by quickly before people began showing up for mine. He was able to get me in, and I went inside, said hi to a few people and got some pictures taken, and by then people were already headed to the roof for my party and texting me asking where I was.

So I made my way back upstairs and greeted many of my friends that had started to show up, it was really starting to fill in, and wo0sik was holding it down with the music, the perfect warm up for my set. I started my set at 11 and it went perfectly. I took the audience on a journey through many genres of music which is always what I aim to do. There were so many smiles and people moving on the dance floor, I could feel the energy and it only confirmed for me more that DJing and connecting people through music is something that I was put on this earth to do.

What’s the one thing you need to survive fashion week?
The crown is my staple piece, and since King Lindo the DJ was born, it has become an essential piece of my wardrobe and also a big part of my brand identity. Towards the end of last year I began working with the brand EYEHUNEE who makes my crowns on a collection of crowns that will be releasing this year, so stay tuned for that!

What trend are you planning to adopt this fall/winter?
I would like to invest in a couple good classy pairs of boots. Right now I have one nice pair, and the rest of my footwear is pretty much winter/snow boots, or sneakers.

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Photo by Marc Tarigan

Shelcy and Christy Joseph are the stylish sister duo behind fashion and lifestyle media platform NYCxClothes. On social media, they’re fashion creators; and off, they’re consultants and community builders, hosting a range of experiences from work sessions and workout classes to industry panels and NYFW networking events via their agency, NYC x Studio. Their tenth NYFW is packed with a full, but intentional agenda and a call for “real progress on the inclusion front.”

How did you start your morning?
We were picked up bright and early for the Kate Spade show, for which we wore an explosion of prints and colors from their spring 2023 collection.

What was on the agenda this afternoon?
After the Kate Spade show, we went home to change for a brunch hosted by Kensington Grey, the leading talent management agency championing women of color. Later, we headed to the Cinq à Sept presentation.

And how about the evening?
The evening took us to Nine Orchard for a dinner with Instagram and affiliate platform ShopMy, then later a quick stop at the Calvin Klein x i-D magazine party.

What’s the one thing you need to survive fashion week?
An organized schedule and a small team to help keep things on track.

What trend are you planning to adopt this fall/winter?
Bright monochromes as we are huge color girls.

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Photo courtesy Hunter Shires

Hunter Shires is better known as High End Homo, the seemingly all-knowing fashion account covering collections, celebrity runway pulls, archival moments and more. Standing 6’3” tall, his presence at some of this season’s must-see shows — Dion Lee, Area and others — cannot be missed, unlike the subtle shade he’s known to dish online. Shires is new to the Fashion Week scene, this being his second time participating, but he’s caught on quickly, noting, “This week is a little reunion kiki…it’s all about how opinions are a form of currency, and apparently I’m rich.”

How did you start your morning?
I woke up, went to the gym and made my delicious cold brew coffee from home with cinnamon of course shaken up.

What was on the agenda this afternoon?
My first errand was shopping in SoHo with my assistant for a last minute look. I picked up some Loewe sunnies I’ve been eyeing for a minute, then grocery shopped.

And what about the evening?
I hit my first show of the week, Dion Lee. It’s nice to see how innovative Lee has been with embracing rave wear and I hope it inspires the girls’ music festival looks. Around 11:30 p.m., my friend and I called a car to Boom Boom Room [for the Dion Lee after party] before the rush of people came. We heard Charli XCX or Azealia Banks was performing and we did NOT want to miss that. The drinks were top shelf, and I may have had too many vodkas on the rocks. That Grey Goose hit me the minute Azealia came on. I mean what’s more cunt than this.

What’s the one thing you need to survive fashion week?
Water, a hot shower and the gym if you can make it. Also, don’t stress too much about your show or event outfit. Fashion week is not what it’s all caught up to be. If you aren’t dressed by the brand, just wear something from your closet! It’ll say a lot more about who you are which is why we’re all here.

What trend are you planning to adopt this fall/winter?
This fall winter I want to adopt the over extended sleeves trend we’ve seen at menswear shows like Dries Van Noten. Peek-a-boo boxers are also catching my eye but I’m late on that one.