Winning Designers At Fashion Week In NYC

September 6, 2018

The two top-winning designers of the 2018 Bermuda Fashion Festival have made their way to New York City; both Rochelle Minors and Charda Simons debuted collections at the Fashion Festival in July and won the coveted opportunity to show their brand at New York Fashion Week [NYFW].

Ms. Minors and Ms. Simons both took part in a 4-month mentor program with international designers as part of their participation in the Bermuda Fashion Festival.

Ms. Minors was mentored by Viktor Luna, a former contestant on Project Runway who now works alongside celebrity designer Michael Costello and Ms. Simons was mentored by Lisa Nicole Cloud, entrepreneur and reality star of ‘Married to Medicine’ who also designs her own collection and who will be showing at NYFW as well.

With their shows scheduled for Sunday, September 9th, both Ms. Minors and Ms. Simons are spending their time doing model fittings and taking in the City.

Charda Simons and Rochelle Minors taking on New York City

Of the opportunity, Ms. Simons said, “I am so blessed and grateful for this opportunity to showcase at NYFW. It is still so unreal to me. I had my fittings on Monday and that was a bit overwhelming but went well.

“As we get closer to the show date my nerves and excitement are both building. This is a big deal, this is really happening. I’m looking forward to showing the world the start of Street Lux.”

Ms Minors said, “New York has been awesome. I’m really excited about my fashion show. I think nervousness is inevitable when it comes to an opportunity of this importance. I’m mostly looking forward to seeing the reaction of the audience after they see my designs.

“My mentor unfortunately couldn’t make it but he will be supporting me in spirit. My journey began in New York back in March when I came here to get fabric. I never expected I would be back here for Fashion Week. I want to thank the City of Hamilton and the Bermuda Fashion Festival again for this opportunity. I’m really grateful and blessed.’

Executive Producer of the Bermuda Fashion Festival, Danilee Trott, added, ‘We are so very proud and excited to be only a few short days away from Rochelle and Charda’s shows. They have both worked so incredibly hard and are well-deserving of this incredible opportunity.

“To show their brands on an international stage, especially one as glamorous and as famous as New York Fashion Week, is the icing on the cake. It’s the stuff of dreams. They’ve traveled a long and tedious journey, often with a lot of epic fails and tears to get to this point.

“Personally, I feel like a proud mom watching them be the stars of their own show. I certainly hope that their stories will inspire the next hopeful local designers to take a chance and submit themselves for next year’s Fashion Festival.”

Charda Simon’s runway show, featuring her brand, Street Lux, will take place on Sunday, September 9th at 10am in the Emerging Artists showcase and Rochelle Minors will show her brand, Rochelle Nicole, also on Sunday at 4pm in the Pret-A-Porter showcase.

Rochelle Nicole at the Bermuda Fashion Festival