HARLEM’S FASHION ROW AND CROWN ROYAL AWARD 4 GRANTS TO EMERGING BLACK DESIGNERS
Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) and Crown Royal Regal Apple teamed up on Tuesday night for HFR’s New York Fashion Week Style Awards, runway show, and after-party. Committed to empowering the next generation of artists and creatives, Crown Royal Regal Apple collaborated with HFR’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Icon360, to award four $10,000 grants to emerging Black designers that help push culture forward in innovative, new ways.
Ahead of the evening at 137th Street & 7th Avenue, Crown Royal Regal Apple outfitted Harlem’s Fashion Row Runway Show with its own photo experience and sneaker cleaning booth to help guests stay fresh ahead of the night. Further into the evening, the Style Awards peaked with the presentation of the 2021 Royal Icon Awards presented by Crown Royal Regal Apple & Icon360, a grant awarded to each creator showcasing their new lines as a part of the runway show.
The grant recipients include TIER founders Nigeria Ealey, Esaïe Jean Simon, and Victor James, who strive to impact, inspire, create, and communicate their individual and collective stories through fashion and experiences; Johnathan Hayden, whose work has contributed to exploring meaningful applications of technology in fashion; Shawn Pean, founder of luxury menswear brand June79 that aims to redefine luxury among a new renaissance consumer; and Charles Harbison, creative director for modern luxury lifestyle brand Harbison Studio.
“Crown Royal Regal Apple, in partnership with Harlem’s Fashion Row and ICON360, is continuing its mission to support artists and creators who, in fresh, new ways, are shaping culture,” said Nicola Heckles, vice president at Crown Royal. “These grants not only celebrate each designer but also directly supports their work in a meaningful way, sharing our platform to support the visibility and successive sales of the designs they’ve shown tonight.”
“Crown Royal Regal Apple and Harlem’s Fashion Row share the same charge to champion and uplift creators in multicultural communities,” added Brandice Daniel, CEO of Harlem’s Fashion Row. “Icon360 was created specifically to fund designers of color who, with monetary support, can continue leading the revival of Black culture that is happening right now in places like Harlem and across the country.”
Crown Royal Regal Apple also hosted the official after-party with deejays Kitty Ca$h and Cory Townes both spinning while guests of legal drinking age sipped Crown Apple cocktails. Each collection from the newly knighted crisp culture grant recipients was also displayed as an extension of their earlier debut. Guests were able to purchase the designs directly via QR codes at the display dubbed ‘Designer’s Row’.
