NYFW SS27 Event Recap
Your front-row seat to the chaos, color, and culture of modern style. They say New York is a concrete jungle, but for one week in September, it becomes a runway of pure possibility. We chase the clothes, hoping they’ll chase us back.
Daveed Baptiste with Moremi Gbayisomore
It’s fall in New York City.
For some, that means pumpkin spice lattes, back-to-school shopping, and rush hour traffic. But for the real ones, it means one thing: fashion season. New York Fashion Week has arrived—and this season, we’re looking beyond the runway. From the designers setting the tone to the people, places, and moments that make the city feel alive, here’s New York Fashion Week through the GCA lens.
Saturday, September 12th,
Theophilio Studio celebrated ten years on the West Side of Manhattan — and the room was star studded. The night brought together a vibrant mix of Black fashion creatives, executives, models, designers, and tastemakers, with the crowd itself becoming part of the visual experience. Color, personality, and individual style filled the room from start to finish. At the core of GCA is an appreciation for art shaped by culture, so being in a room that celebrated Black creativity and fashion felt especially fitting.
The celebration was sponsored by Wray & Nephew, bringing a taste of Jamaica to the evening through a specialty cocktail menu. We went for the rum punch—which was very good, and very much enough after one. At 60% ABV, Wray & Nephew does NOT play. Among the standout guests were Amaya Elizabeth, Season 7 winner of Love Island, Olivier Rousteing, the French designer and longtime former creative director of Balmain, and Brandon Blackwood, the designer behind the namesake handbag brand.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Edvin Thompson, Founder and Creative Director of Theophilio and Norie, Theophilio Studio Manager. You could see their passion for Theophilio and the connection it has to their Jamaican heritage.
Throughout the evening the room stayed in motion, guests were mingling and dancing, the energy never dipped once well into the night. If people not wanting to leave is any indication, the ten-year celebration did exactly what a good fashion party should. And you know the GCA team were the last to leave the building.
Happy 10 years, Theophilio. Here’s to a decade of creativity, culture, and continued impact on the community.
Friday, September 18th
The following week Haitian designer Daveed Baptise launched his Spring Summer 2027 capsule collection in Soho on Wednesday September 16th and then hosted an open to the public pop up that weekend. We stopped by and felt like we were transported to an alternate dimension. The world of Daveed Baptiste designs. Designer Daveed was walking around servicing customers which we admired. Oftentimes designers do not always extend their presence past the initial launch night, some don’t even show up for their events at all. So watching him not only interacting but actively servicing clients made the whole experience feel a lot more intimate. Our Founder Moremi got the chance to talk with Daveed about the collection and the pop up:
Moremi: “You said this was your first pop up, New York fashion week, spring summer 27. How are you feeling about it? How was it? How did it go?”
Daveed : “It was insane we had like over 300 guests, which was nice for a space so tiny. And now today is day 2 post launch, it's more intimate, I've gotten a chance to meet a lot of the community that has stopped by. And it's good to see the faces of the people that love the work and have been a part of the journey and it's nice to interact, seeing the people who are shopping. I hate retail, I hate stores, I worked many retail jobs.”
Moremi : “Oh my gosh wait what retail jobs have you worked?”
Daveed: "I've worked in America… um I worked at American Eagle, that was the only one I actually worked at.”
Moremi: “And that was enough.”
Daveed: “And I never thought I would be working retail again but it's for myself. I'm here, I'm on the floor, I like organizing the clothes, talking to everybody, making sure, so I'm doing it.”
Moremi: “Everything Looks really good, you are killing it!”
Moremi: “Can you tell me a little bit about the construction and what went into it and honestly the entire inspiration behind the whole line.”
Daveed: “I love the water, I'm Haitian and these jeans are reminiscent of ocean waves, I think about tides vibrating and that's what those jeans are really about. The construction, its 28 pieces that are sewn together and piping sandwiched in between it and from there it goes to a wash house where they do treatments to it to make it look like this. It starts off as raw indigo and that takes it to a tsunami.”
Moremi: “It's so beautiful and you can’t tell but I love a statement pair of pants honestly.”
Daveed: “Same, that's how I build out all my outfits.”
Moremi: “Me too honestly i feel like people start with the top but I start with the pants.”
Daveed's Haitian roots played a major role in the inspiration for his line. The way he interpreted childhood references into a somewhat deconstructed streetwear :
Moremi: “So you mentioned that you were Haitian, at GCA we really are rooted in uplifting culture through art so do you feel like there are any nods to Haitian culture in this line”
Daveed: “This piece right here, these tank tops, if you are Haitian and you went to school in Haiti or if you are even African in general you went to school in these red plaid ginghams and your whole class would wear it. This is a nod to that exact reference.”
Moremi: “I love that, So how long did you go to school in Haiti."
Daveed: “Not long I left when I was 6.”
Moremi: “Oh okay and then you moved to Florida."
Daveed: MHM.
Moremi: “So do you have Miami references happening here too, do you feel like that plays a little taste in your fashion too? I feel like these trunks maybe?”
Daveed: “I think in a way, the collection just feels hot girl, it's hot, it's popping but I think in the way we photograph it really tells the story.”
Moremi: “I love all the colors I feel like I'm getting, even with the music I'm getting a groovy vibe.”
Daveed: “That's me that's who I am.”
The Daveed Baptiste Spring Summer 2027 Capsule is available to view, shop and pre order at DaveedBaptiste.art online!
And If you want some inspo on what pieces to look out for, we asked the designer what his favorite look from the collection is.
Moremi: “So what's your favorite piece if you HAD to pick one?”
Daveed: “I love the denim set, the wavy denim set.”
Moremi: “With the shorts?”
Daveed: “Yes, I love.”
FASHION WE SAW
One of my favorite things about New York Fashion Week is that there is no one way to do fashion. Everyone has their own version. Their own references. Their own personal swag. And maybe that’s what makes New York Fashion Week feel so different from anywhere else. After a summer filled with block parties, cultural festivals, parades, outdoor events, and the general chaos, fashion week almost feels like a farewell to summer—just with a few fall tones thrown in.
We saw plenty of skirts and dresses throughout the week, along with one styling trick that kept catching our eye: repurposing shirts into skirts. A little unexpected, a little resourceful, nonetheless very chic.
And then there was zebra print.
If you caught our GCA Fall Faves, you already know we called it. Zebra was everywhere, proving once again that when a trend shows up at New York Fashion Week, in our opinion the melting pot of fashion weeks, that's when it's time to pay attention. Because that’s exactly what New York is: a melting pot.
The Tri-State area, and New York City in particular, brings together so many cultures, references, communities, and creative perspectives that naturally make their way into the way people dress. You can walk a few blocks and see completely different interpretations of what fashion means. And honestly, that’s the fun of it.
Yes, fashion week is about the shows. The collections. The artistry. The elaborate events. But fashion is also about participation. Creativity can live anywhere, and not everyone has the access, invitation, or resources to step inside the most exclusive rooms. That’s why spaces and brands like Ofuure, Daveed Baptiste and Theophilio matter so much. They create opportunities for fashion lovers and the wider community to experience fashion week beyond the guest list.
After all that, we close the door on another New York fashion season. There were colors, patterns, heritage, and rum? I guess the only real question left is: did this season actually inspire your wardrobe, or did it just make you want to buy a ticket somewhere tropical?
We feel like both! Let us know your favorite moments.