This story was updated on Monday, September 9, at 3:48pm.
New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is in full swing, teeming with the allure of high glamour. Amid fierce competition for a runway slot, two Parsons School of Design second-years decided to take matters into their own hands. Neptune House NYC, founded by strategic design major Aashriya Dinesh and communication design major Gauri Subramani, is an art collective dedicated to showcasing student talent.
“Nebula,” their debut runway show at NYFW, will feature six Parsons student collections. The planning process for the show began in April, with the event set to debut on Monday, Sept. 9.
The conception of Neptune House NYC was ignited by Dinesh’s and Subramani’s fondness for collaborative storytelling and their interactions with peers. They are eager to build community, highlight underclassmen designs, and offer opportunities to those who might not otherwise showcase their work.
Doors will open for “Nebula” at 4 p.m., and the runway show starts at 6 p.m. Held at 100 Sutton Event Space, Brooklyn, attendees can enjoy vendors, a red carpet, and entry following a “dress to impress” dress code. Tickets can be purchased on Neptune House’s Eventbrite page, with all proceeds going to the Save The Children fund.
The six student designers have poured three months worth of their creative vision, craftsmanship, and innovation into their collections for the debut. Here’s a glimpse of what these up-and-coming designers have been working on.
After a solo trip to Hawaii, second-year fashion design major Klara Han (@sweet_poison_0304) knew exactly what to do for her latest collection. An environmentally attuned city girl, as she describes herself, Han draws deeply from the culture, setting, and atmosphere around her. The trip provided the perfect escape from fast-paced city life, allowing her to reflect on her upbringing and the religious themes she had always been drawn to.
“Hawaii was so gorgeous and breathtaking that it took my thoughts straight to the Garden of Eden,” she said.
Influenced by her Catholic mother, Han infuses her avant-garde work with religious commentaries, exploring dualities like damage and refuge, and growth and destruction. She invites her audience to contemplate these contrasts and their intersections.
“My work is what I want to always say to the world, myself, and to all my audiences.” – Klara Han
While Han’s collection blends religious and modern elements to explore personal identity, fashion design major Amelia Addicott’s (@fashion_scraps_bymelie) work revives vintage fabrics to challenge contemporary fashion’s focus on trends.
“I wanted to share a different side of traditional fashion runways,” she explained.
“Instead of focusing on trends, I wanted to address the less conforming people that the industry tends to purposely forget.” – Amelia Addicott
Drawing inspiration from the 1950s and 1960s, Addicott aims to revive and expand on traditional fashion practices, including historical sewing and costuming. “I want the audience to feel both a sense of nostalgia and discomfort, confronting the idea that everything isn’t black and white,” she said. Interested in costume design, her collection incorporates theatrical elements and invites viewers to experience fashion as a narrative, challenging conventional design boundaries.
“I’m just the guy that makes the clothes.”
That’s how Lucas Miller describes himself when asked about his work. As a rising first-year, Miller caught the attention of Neptune House via Instagram at the beginning of summer due to the creation of his personal brand, Lmiller Clothing (@lmiller.apparel).
While working as a special project assistant on a farm, Miller encountered farmers dissatisfied with their garments’ functionality, and it opened his eyes to the performance elements of apparel.
“I wanted to combine the suiting and tailoring of the 19th century with the ever-evolving world of performance wear,” he emphasized. By incorporating natural-source inner linings and hand stitching into functional rainwear, he aims to create stylish and practical garments. “It should look good, feel good, and serve a functional purpose.”
Kaylie Thao (@Juinistudio) is in her last year of fashion design AAS and has named her latest collection “Eudaimonia,” a term from Greek philosophy meaning flourishing or living in alignment with one’s true self. Growing up in her Vietnamese community, Thao felt pressure to conform, trading in the bright, playful colors she loved as a child for darker clothes that fit societal norms.
Her collection, which celebrates the feminine side she once suppressed, draws inspiration from Kirby, the character in the video game Super Smash Bros. “Kirby’s so cute,” she laughed, “but more importantly, he stays true to himself, no matter how many powers he absorbs from others.”
“I want people to see fashion as a way to find and show their true selves, to enjoy the process of revealing and embracing their own uniqueness,” she said. “This collection is my personal way of sharing that expression.”
Second-year fashion design student Sophia Rocco (@rocco___nyc) has always felt a deep connection to the world of performance. Growing up a ballet dancer and theater participant, her interest in costume design felt like a natural progression.
Describing her collection as “Gothic romantic,” Rocco’s designs are versatile, meant to be worn in different ways, and feature softer, more romantic touches. She explores the theme of “time as a circle” through her choice of materials, all of which are second-hand fabrics like curtains and bedsheets. “I wanted to use materials that had a past life, to show that everything can be repurposed,” she said.
“I think that repurposing is the only way fashion can continue,” she emphasized. “There are already so many materials out there — I’m just doing what I can.” – Sophia Rocco
Second-year fashion design student Yoko Boccara (@yokoboccara) was born in Marrakech, Morocco to a third-generation French family and draws on her multicultural heritage in her designs. “This collection is all about my identity, blending the different cultures that make up who I am,” Boccara explained.
Her materials are deeply rooted in Moroccan culture, featuring traditional carpets from the Atlas Mountains, a dying art form. “I want the audience to feel a blend of heritage and modernity in my designs,” – Yoko Boccara
Boccara’s design process is inspired by the medinas, or old cities of Morocco, leading her to choose thicker fabrics like Moroccan carpets to create garments suitable for the fall and winter seasons.
As she looks forward to the upcoming show, Boccara is excited to see the work of her fellow designers. “We each have our own unique world, and it’s amazing to see how our collections tell different stories when they come together.”
In a previous version of this story, Neptune House cofounder Gauri Subramani was incorrectly referred to as Gauri Sumbramani in the second paragraph. The story has been updated to include the correct name.
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