Conversations cease as lights dim and heavy-bass, ethereal music fills the space. Sorotzkin sets the tone with focused, corseted, models marching down the runway. Savas’s, Ellingsworth’s, and DeBaer’s collections follow suit, each with their own distinct trance and style. The show concludes with all four designers walking the runway together, waving and mouthing “thank you” to their applauding friends and family.

The lights return and give way to music, drinks and conversation as the audience awaits the models and designers to join from backstage and celebrate their work. 

AFTERWORK reflected a hybrid between a successful student fashion critique and a professional NYFW runway show. The collegiate elements of young people running around and cheering, approving arms-crossed professor-types, and models coming to mingle with the crowd directly after the show gave a heartwarming undertone to the professionalism on display.

The designers and staff showcased their capabilities as fashion and event creatives. In the midst of the famously  exclusive and luxurious New York Fashion Week, AFTERWORK proved that the creative zeitgeist is what you make it, and that celebration of creative work draws crowds of all sorts of individuals. The event brought together students, professors, friends, family, independent creatives, and a few household names from the fashion world like Andrew Curwen, bbyg6rl and Mark Boutilier. 

“The energy in the room felt incredibly present,” said Sorotzkin after the show. “People were genuinely engaged with the work, asking thoughtful questions, and staying to connect rather than rushing in and out.”

A more in-depth look at the designers of AFTERWORK, their backgrounds, and how they make it work in New York City is coming soon, stay tuned. ∎