It’s that time of the year, and New York Fashion Week is nearly upon us. While a coveted seat at the shows and ever-elusive invitations to the hottest events in fashion are notoriously exclusive, official NYFW sponsor Afterpay is opening the doors to consumers everywhere with their Keys to NYFW in partnership with the industry’s hottest designers. Keys to NYFW are Afterpay’s partnered collection of affordable NFTs created with 5 major designers – Joseph Altuzarra, an OnlyChild, Jonathan Simkhai, Kim Shui and Maxwell Osborne. The keys sold out within hours of launch, with all proceeds benefitting Free Arts NYC.
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Today, Afterpay unveiled its fashion week programming, which democratizes NYFW in never-before-seen ways. Exclusive designer moments and incredible fashion is only the start. Inspired by efforts to invite the public to engage with high fashion, New York City womenswear designer Kim Shui is debuting her new collection at an iconic NYC landmark. Shui sourced models, stylists, photographers, hairdressers and stylists through social media, allowing aspiring fashion insiders the chance to break into the industry. Afterpay and Shui have also developed the first-ever crowdsourced runway garment with fabric created from the public’s pixel submissions, which will make its way down the runway on September 12 before being minted into its own NFT for distribution to those who contributed a pixel.
Design studio Area is partnering with Afterpay to bring its runway show to the streets of NYC, with projections of Area’s SS’23 runway show popping up across NYC at several buzzy intersections, cityscapes, and landmarks from September 12 to September 14. McClain, Head of Community at P00LS, will lead the panel on decentralizing fashion. Natalie McGrath, VP of Marketing at Afterpay; Michelle Reeves, CEO and Cofounder of Mavion; and Elise Swopes, NFT Artist will also take part in the discussion. The talk will be accessible online after the event concludes.
Photography by: Photos courtesy of Afterpay
