5 Young Designers to Watch at New York Fashion Week

Parsons graduate Sintra Martin is bringing her womenswear looks to New York Fashion Week. Having done custom looks for Sydney Sweeney, Willow Smith, and Olivia Rodrigo, Martin is already on the map with her brand, Saint Sintra. For the perfect mix of feminine and edgy, be sure to keep an eye out for the Saint Sintra show. 

Italian for "no sex/no gender," Los Angeles-based brand No Sesso is making waves in the fashion world. A collaborative effort between founder, Perries Davis, and designers Autumn Randolph and Arin Hayes, the brand strives to empower people of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Their goal is to "make nonconformity as beautiful and as inclusive as it can possibly be." If you're looking for a brand that takes intricate knitwear and beautiful silk pieces and makes them genderfluid, check out No Sesso. 

Inspired by the beauty of nature, bold colors, and travel, New York-based brand Abacaxi is an NYFW one to watch. Created by South Asian-American designer Sheena Sood, Abacaxi is bringing Indian, Brazilian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Peruvian, and Mexican designs to New York City. After being inspired by the indigenous textiles of each of these cultures, Snood decided to take what she had learned from her days working for Tracy Reese, Cole Haan, and Anthropologie, and branch off into her own brand. Now, Abacaxi has become her full-time job and her creative space to combine her love for art with fashion. Not only does Abacaxi provide rich and bold colored garments, but most of their pieces are made from natural fibers such as cotton khadi, linen, silk, and alpaca. Additionally, Abacaxi uses upcycled sari material, repurposed tees, and wastage fabric whenever they can work the textiles into a garment. 

Created by Jack Miner and Lily Miesmer in 2020, Interior is bringing a "nuanced and idiosyncratic approach to daily dressing." Focusing on combining sportswear with eveningwear, Interior is bringing the future to womenswear, with a hint of nostalgia. Interior combines staple closet items, such as shirting and knitwear, with specialty pieces that elevate any look to create effortless, yet stylish, everyday wear.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Connor McKnight created his luxury fashion brand during the beginning of the pandemic. He designed and created his entire first collection from his bedroom in hopes of rekindling his love for fashion amidst unemployment and the unrest he was feeling as a Black man in America during the Black Lives Matter protests. Taking the vintage outerwear look that controls the black youth fashion of his hometown of Washington D.C., and combining it with the trends of the fashion world today, McKnight is creating clothes to last a lifetime. He's looking to express the narratives of black youth in America through his designs, and combine those narratives with luxury fashion trends that have not been accessible to black youth in previous generations.