Roots, Mentorship & The Public Runway

For SS26, KidSuper's Colm Dillane transformed Brooklyn Borough Hall (featuring rising stairs, civic gravitas, and an outdoor stage) into a showcase for The People's Runway, which featured five emerging Brooklyn designers. Rather than debut a typical KidSuper collection, Dillane mentored Kent Anthony, Shriya Myneni, Rojin Jung, Ahmril Johnson, and Daveed Baptiste, supporting them in producing capsule collections, providing runway exposure, business guidance, and a platform to present in a public, free, and open space. It feels part collaboration, part community project, part declaration: design isn't just an elite avenue, it's street-level, local, mentoring grounded in reality.

It's remarkable how much of the show's impact comes from the non-visible work: teaching budgeting, styling, narrative building, business strategy. Designers commented that what they got from Dillane wasn't just space or exposure, but clarity about how to sustain a brand. That gives the show real value beyond runway gloss. The five designers bring different backgrounds, aesthetics, and approaches (e.g., knit, tailoring, streetwear, and experimental cuts). Even though each only had five looks, there was a pleasant variety, with different silhouettes and a mix of polish and rawness. It felt like a snapshot of what Brooklyn's next generation is thinking.

Hosting it at Borough Hall, free for the public, open call for portfolios-this injects fashion week with citizenship, democracy. It disrupts the notion that the runway is only for insiders. For many locals, budding designers, and creatives without capital, it signals possibility. The staging, the street casting, the real life mixed with performance (models carrying Dunkin' Coffee, busy backstage, mentorship moments) gives texture. It's less illusion, more life. Those moments make the beautiful imperfect.

Since each designer had only five looks, it sometimes felt like ideas were merely sketches rather than fully developed collections. Some garment details or transitions (from one look to another) felt a bit abrupt; there wasn't enough runway "wiggle room" to show evolution. Some looks showed signs of resource limits, as fabric finishing, accessory styling, and tailoring precision weren't consistently uniform. Understandable given the emergent status, but for some pieces it felt like under-managed execution, especially compared to established runway productions. A few designers leaned towards experimentation; others were more commercial. The show is strong in vision, but some pieces may struggle to translate into wholesale or retail without adaptation (price, durability, wearability). The mentorship piece helps, but the gulf between runway and business is enormous, and some designs will need compromise.

Here are what seem like useful takeaways-both stylistic and structural-from The People's Runway:

1. Mentored Capsule Collections

• For emerging designers, doing a tight capsule (5 looks) with strong mentorship can be more powerful than trying a full runway breadth without support.

2. Mix of Local & Personal Narrative

• Rooting designs in local story or identity (Brooklyn, personal heritage, place) adds resonance. Consumers increasingly respond to roots and authenticity.

3. Hybrid Aesthetic: Street + Tailored

• Streetwear sensibilities (raw edge, casual draping, comfort) combined with tailored pieces or more polished looks make for a strong contrast. Many designers used both in one capsule.

4. Function + Flair

• Pieces that feel like they could be worn in urban, everyday-walked-in, layered, mixed— with one or two statement items (cutouts, prints, unusual materials) to give identity.

5. Public / Accessible Runway & Community Engagement

• The model-open call, public show—may indicate a shift: not every show must be exclusive. There's value (and energy) in fashion being accessible. Consumers and supporters seem to respond well to this.

6. Styling Counts as Storytelling

• Designers emphasized not just garments but how they're styled, how looks flow. Accessories, makeup, model casting, music, and staging—all influence how a collection's ideas are perceived. Clothes don't speak in isolation.

KidSuper's "People's Runway" feels less like a traditional fashion show and more like a declaration of what runway could be: inclusive, grounded, mentor-driven, locally resonant.

It's not polished in the way of luxury brands with big budgets, but it has something perhaps more valuable: heart, possibility, authenticity.

For those who care about fashion's future, this show is a signal: talent exists all over Brooklyn (and beyond), and the infrastructure (mentorship, exposure, financial support) matters as much as aesthetics. Some of the looks shown may never become commercial best-sellers, but the ideas, narratives, and collaborations will likely reverberate.