Flooded with beautiful models, the Meat Packing District streets turned into a runway this year during NYFW.

As luxury designers get ready to showcase the next seasons’ collection, the streets of New York were filled with more models than usual. For photographers who couldn’t make it to the runway, this was the perfect opportunity to capture high-end fashion worn by professional models.

The beautiful Meat Packing District of Manhattan became more glamourous as luxury brands hosted pop-ups including Maison Kitsune’s all-day festival and Dior’s Miss Dior flower-themed popup.

The already photogenic cobblestone streets turned into a runway walk as professional models dressed in high-end clothes strutted down by the Starbucks Reserves.

Hit the Meat Packing District for the vibes

As a street photographer, the environment is significant when creating art and the historic architecture is a timeless beauty that can be used as an amazing backdrop for portraits.

From the cobblestone streets to the old brick walls, the aesthetic completes the wonders of fashion week.

Breath-taking models walking around the meatpacking district were generous, allowing me to photograph them and their outfits.

The process of taking fashion photographs becomes seamless because professional models knew their poses and angles. The experience of quickly shooting then moving on to the next model was exhilarating. Each model was incredibly charismatic and kept me motivated.

The outfits these models wore this year in the Meat Packing District were vibrant and creative. These models expressed themselves through the fabric and color they wore. They were moving, breathing visual art.

By their postures and pose they looked absolutely fantastic, to say the least. As fashion week came to a close these models reminded me that New York is where fashion breaths.

One of the first things you notice when you enter a new land is the local fashion. When I arrived in Tokyo, this was undoubtedly the case. And I learned a hard lesson: don’t mistake Japanese fashion imitation for the real thing.

Having spent around four months in the city, I gained a sense of true Japanese street fashion. One part of this is realizing some of the shirts I had there weren’t as popular as I had hoped…

Writing on shirts

The fasted way I learned my shirt wasn’t true Japanese fashion was that it was in Chinese.

Written Japanese is divided into three alphabets. Kanji, (which used in Chinese as well) represent symbols and makes up most written Japanese. Hiragana is used for individual sounds. Katakana is the same but used exclusively for foreign words.

One of my teachers told me the front and back of my shirt were in Chinese but my sleeves had katakana. Ironically, it had been marketed as a Japanese text shirt.

This goes for the reverse as well. You will often see people there with shirts that have random English phrases or words on them. It’s probably the same phenomenon of people getting tattoos in languages they don’t speak and getting “take-out” written on themselves.

Taste for high end

While most other aspects of Japan are affordable compared to America, the clothes are not. Most people like to dress as nicely as they can, and like to shop at designer stores.

 

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Haven’t posted in a while

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Outside of exercise, you will seldom see anyone in shorts. Jeans, as well, are quite uncommon to see on the streets. Khakis and button-ups are the norm.

Even thrift stores are usually not so cheap there. You will find Gucci and Jordans in these stores as well but priced at the Internet standard rate.

Skate fashion

The Japanese fashion we adopted for America comes from Japanese skate culture. Skate culture is strong in Japan, yet skating is illegal on the streets. This is where the baggy t-shirts and long sleeves with text on the sleeves come in. Joggers are their skater pants.

When it comes to shoes, you will see brands not widely available in America, yet are affordable. At least some are affordable.

 

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Super quick feet! 💨 🤯 ___ Via: @japanese_super_rat ___ Tags ignore: #todoskate #japanesesuperrat #japanskate #skatejapan #nocomply #flattricks #quickfeet #awesomeskateclips #creativeskateclips #sk8tricks #sk8boy #sk8erboy #sk8 #sk8er #skateboardclips #skateeverydamnday #theberrics #thrashermagazine #thrashermag #trendyskateboarding #trendyskateclips #modernskate #skatepark #indoorskatepark

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In Japan, this style of dress is seen as trendy, but troublesome. Skating has a rebellious reputation, to begin with, and in Japan the troublemaker connotation is two-fold.

Harajuku is the hub for all things fashion in Japan. You will find street fashion and high-end supply there, often together.

Japanese fashion imitation – Careful what you wear

If you go to Japan and you’re tempted to wear something with Japanese on it, try to find out what it says first. Just like there are odd phrases in English on shirts there, you can easily wear something reprehensible.

For example, I have a shirt parodying the Nintendo 64 logo, saying instead Hentai 69. Hentai is a term for anime and manga porn and was too funny not to buy. However, it literally translates in Japanese to “pervert.”

I only found this out when wearing it to school got some people to laugh and others to look at me weird. It was then when my friend Teru told me the meaning.

Though not many speak fluent English, most can read it. Be careful with what you wear, friends.

Now and then we are compelled to wear our favorite hooded sweatshirt, or hoodie because it makes us feel comfortable. On the other hand, hoodies tend to make people – society – uncomfortable with its image.

Writer and curator Lou Stoppard, has put the hoodie and the ideas around it into question with an exhibit called “The Hoodie” at the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Netherlands, currently open to the public.

With over 60 hoodies on display, that are diverse in their symbolism, and mixed media, including film, photography, magazine covers, and music that will tell the story of the hoodie for attendees of the gallery.

Lou Stoppard, who started at renowned image-maker Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio as an intern, then moving into an editor position where she would be inclined to critique fashion and question those involved about their thoughts and decisions.

She has been involved in curation before, working on the North Exhibit at Open Eye Gallery with co-curator Adam Murray. Their exhibit was an adulation of the North displaying a majority of documentary photography and fashion editorials that highlighted the northern area of England.

The Life of a Hoodie

Hoodies are a much broader subject matter that all of us can relate to oddly. Whether you’ve been a scholar or athlete, the hoodie has been apart of your life. The hood goes as far back as medieval times, mostly worn by religious figures.

Moving to the 1930s, Champion made it specific for warehouse workers in upstate New York and then adopted by the Military as garments for training exercises and physical education classes.

Fast Fashion

Fast forward and the hoodie has come into its own from the NYC streets and early hip-hop culture in the ‘70s to the ‘90s where hip-hop flourished and skate culture cemented.

Notorious B.I.G. mentioned a liking to “[black Tims and] black Hoodies” on his “Suicidal Thoughts” record off his first album. Now we can spot our tech gurus wearing them all over Silicon Valley; Mark Zuckerberg has been keen on this.

If fashion is your thing, you can recognize the familiar look of the hoodie and associate it with many things we don’t necessarily see as an infringement on societal norms. Contrasting thoughts from a more conservative crowd suggest an unnecessary evil stems from wearing hoods, projecting onto all those who can see said ‘hoodie’.

This was most present when the Unabomber, a white man, was terrorizing America’s postal system and a sketch of the percieved bomber wore a hood with dark sunglasses.

High Fashion

Designers have used the hoodie as a bread and butter retail product, as merchandise, as a sublime message to the world; particularly when Vetements’ designer Demna Gvasalia chose to add text to some hooded garments, saying things, like, “May the bridges we burn light the way,” expressive of the youth culture and its innate resilience.

Or how about this past Men’s SS 2020 season when streetwear brand BsTroy shook America with when it debuted bullethole riddled hoodies to raise awareness to gun violence in schools. The hoodies displayed the names of just a few schools involved in mass shootings in recent years.

Athletes wear a hood as a sign of determination (Melo) or in defeat. Reflecting on Cam Newton’s hoodie moment, being called a “thug” on social media after a Super Bowl 50 post-game interview during the playoffs. Subjecting all hoodie wearers to the same scrutiny is what is to be explored at “The Hoodie” exhibit.

Fashion has taken note of this bias and has always been pioneers of breaking stereotypes. Even Nike noticed, implementing hoods onto the traditional NBA warm-up uniforms back in 2017 in reaction to the climate, making a bold fashion statement for a mostly Black league.

Haters Gonna Hate

Figures like George Zimmerman have stereotypically demonized the hoodie, especially when worn by young Black males. In 2012, Zimmerman infamously describing Trayvon Martin’s hoodie as a reason for his suspicion. This cost Trayvon his life.

Zimmerman lawyers then coin their “hoodie defense” as a legal argument that Martin is at fault for wearing a hoodie. This spawned the Black Lives Matter movement and protesters adopted the hoodie as an emblem of the cause.

Geraldo Rivera then suggests that [young] Black people to stop wearing hoodies. And in 2015, three years after Trayvon, Don Barrington, Oklahoma 31st district senator at the time, suggested and pushed for a bill to criminalize the wearing of a “robe, mask or other disguise[s]” in public.

That this would “intentionally conceal the wearer’s identity”, in any case, the hoodie would-be victim to this bill.

Hoodie Threads

The hoodie is a subject tearing society apart from the seams. What is to come from an exhibit that highlights that, is how we can come to terms with how effective fashion can be to our cultures. Stoppard is exploring the nuances that move people to emotion when wearing a hoodie.

Through nostalgia of industry, we relate to the garment; many brands if not all have designed hoodies with specific or non-specific intent. The exhibit is expected to be a tense but enlightening journey through the connotations of the ever-expressive hoodie; a “storyteller”.

The hoodie is a provocative piece of clothing, stirring up socio-political fears and aggression toward its existence while creating a sartorial place of comfort for the wearer. “The Hoodie” exhibit explores those ideas and the many expressions of hoodie culture.

Whether its Trayvon Martin’s style of dress, Vetements choice words to complement the rebelliousness of the hoodie, the hood is a two-way mirror of our entitled safety and our percieved insecurities.

If you’re in Rotterdam or planning to visit the Netherlands this season go check out “The Hoodie” by Lou Stoppard.

Look for this article on PAGE magazine.

With consumers becoming more conscious in their pursuits of purchasing products from companies that make conscious beneficial decisions toward social, political, and environmental issues, comes a wave of young entrepreneurs looking to combine their love for the arts, and their concern for the world.

Nadir Jackson, who is based out of South Orange, New Jersey, is one of the brilliant minds who identified an issue in the fashion industry and chose to target it through his craft. Amongst other issues, material and textile waste are a huge threat to the environment.

Nadir saw this issue and to promote a waste-less fashion industry, he combined his new found passion for creating jackets with his love for maintaining an ecological balance. His adoration for travel and embarking new cultures has pushed the theme of sustainability within his brand.

Nadir’s creation turned into Foreign Exchange Global

 

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🇫🇷 •LIGHT• DENIM

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I had the chance to speak with Nadir who explained how he fell into the fashion industry amongst his many talents, how traveling has groomed his designing, and his desire to promote sustainability in the cut-throat industry.

Queens-native and Jersey groomed, Nadir mostly focused on sports and music during his high school years. His love for music landed him many jobs producing whole albums for close friends and local artists.

 

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Head to Toe 📸 : @josh_spector

A post shared by Nadir Jackson ♨️ (@n_a_y___) on Jul 25, 2018 at 5:17pm PDT

In the midst of completing a few projects, a friend mentioned an opportunity during Paris Fashion Week. Nadir’s eyes lit up like Charlie’s when he got his golden ticket. Without any formal training or even prior attempts, Nadir began plotting on a collection under his own brand. He said,

“I love rolling the dice and taking risks, so I was like ‘yeah, f*ck it. I’ll drop a line, I’ll drop a collection.”

He started off hand stitching his jacket designs and took control of his creativity. After his friend donated a sewing machine to him, he was able to accelerate his production line in time to have his very first collection ready for Paris Fashion Week.

 

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Thank You to everyone who came out to the @foreignexchange.co pop up for Paris fashion week last Saturday. Thank you to all the international designers. Thank you to In-Dialog for displaying their groundbreaking technology. This was an amazing experience. Can’t wait to create the next steps. 🤞🏿🖤🤞🏿

A post shared by Nadir Jackson ♨️ (@n_a_y___) on Jun 27, 2018 at 5:01pm PDT

Traveling between Paris, Spain, and other European countries, Nadir has accumulated quite a few stamps in his passport.

His wanderlust has become a driving influence in his clothing brand. The name of the brand — Foreign Exchange Global — alone, embodies the theme of internationality and travel.

Many of his most notable jackets are named after locations he has visited, like the Matador jacket, based on the famous running of the bulls in Spain, and the spectacular sights of tulip gardens in France are embodied in the Les Tuileries jacket.

 

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My Unisex Custom Denim Jackets for @foreignexchange.co These Jackets Will drop in Paris June 23rd at the Pop Up American Release To Be Announced. Thank You To all the models! Photographer : @wadekilledjohann Edits : @horton94_ Casting Director/ Assistant Director: @catdaddylenny Special Thanks To Edwin & Sebastian 🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿

A post shared by Nadir Jackson ♨️ (@n_a_y___) on Jun 12, 2018 at 5:57pm PDT

His acquired traveler’s miles don’t serve as the lone influence within the brand; Nadir is a common advocate for sustainability.

Textile waste is a growing issue as fast fashion becomes more prominent. Nadir identifies that textile waste — amongst other wastes produced by the multi-billion dollar fashion industry — calls for an ill-fitted environment.

As a twenty-something-year-old growing up in Trump’s America and a chaotic world, Foreign Exchange Global feels that its duty is to promote sustainability through their clothing.

Nadir often reuses and repurposes old textiles and clothing, focusing on patchwork and reviving old pieces.

 

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ON THE WAY

A post shared by Foreign Exchange (@foreignexchange.co) on Jul 11, 2018 at 5:04pm PDT

His distinct design style manifests his claim that innovation plays a huge part in not only his design but his life. In talking about how his designs came to light, Jackson said,

“Innovation is really key for me, too. No matter what I’m doing, anything I put out- innovation is definitely a key component.”

The decision to design clothing, aside from a huge environmental crisis standpoint, also derives from Nadir’s disdain for the current fashion industry’s use of denim. Nadir said,

“I felt like nobody was doing it right. I was really underwhelmed and unimpressed by a lot of designer denim, so I figured ‘let me play with it, let me experiment.”

 

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Paris Pop-Up Recap. Thank you to everybody who showed love. This wouldn’t be possible without you. The collection release is ON THE WAY!! 📽: @celia.blum x @horton94_ Thanks: @sliceparis 🎼: Unreleased music from @givemosesgive 🗡🗡🗡

A post shared by Foreign Exchange (@foreignexchange.co) on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:10pm PDT

His unique and unconventional designs have left an everlasting impression on his peers and [flee] clients alike.

Through this young creative’s fusion of visions of design and sustainability, we gain a unique and stylistic melange of reused textiles and a loophole within the environmental crisis that the fashion industry participates in.

Volaré is a Toronto-based fashion company that is paving its own lane. From day one, the fashion house has been different from most brands in the game because they aren’t just making clothes…

They are using their platform to connect with like-minded creatives in the “6.” Slowly, they’ve been forging a community that’s not only helping Volaré be at the forefront of an emerging fashion scene but many of the up and coming fashion brands in Toronto too.

While Toronto is not recognized for their contributions to style just yet, it’s up to brands like Volaré to help push that culture forward. But that all starts with a vision and dream.

 

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🛫Thank you for everyone who managed to stop by our installation this past weekend we really appreciate the love you’ve given us here in The City Of Toronto 🙏🏾 We can’t wait to come back and do more for the creative talents in this city! For those who wasn’t able to come by, please keep a look out for our upcoming events! We would love to connect with you 🙏🏾 — Photographed by @whoisjjj of @disposableaffair

A post shared by The Official Page Of volaré® (@volareofficial) on Aug 27, 2018 at 3:59pm PDT

After interviewing Volaré founder Mark Breiva, speaking on behalf of himself and his team, he explained their reasons for creating the brand. He told me,

“We are looking for every opportunity… We are here to create and that’s all it is. Volaré is a platform to create with no boundaries.”

Looking at the landscape in his city, Breiva and company saw a void that they could fill. Volaré’s main focus became creating artistic freedom for all people.

Designing for the company back in 2013, Breiva and his team finally put their “ideas into reality” and came out with their first Meek Mill hoodie in 2016. Little did they know this hoodie would open up a world for them to build their platform.

 

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Friends and family @meekmill #DC4 hoodie giveaway ends midnight tonight. Check previous post for info. | @fatboy_sse @worldstar | #nappybraidflowhoodie

A post shared by The Official Page Of volaré® (@volareofficial) on Jan 23, 2017 at 10:54am PST

We all know how important influencer marketing is when it comes to building successful streetwear brands, but it still needs to be authentic. It has to fit that artist’s vibe as Breiva explained,

“[Relationships] are good for exposure… Just curating the artists we want to surround ourselves with and attach ourselves with.”

That is exactly what they did. With one Instagram DM and a few calls, Breiva and his team were able to get in touch with Tory Lanez and send him over one of their first Meek Mill hoodies, based on Meek’s DC4 album.

“A couple days later my messages were blowing up because he [Tory Lanez] wore it on stage and one of his team members got a hold of our page and was like Hey, Tory loves your shit we want to meet you guys.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuwMJvAVIl/?taken-by=volareofficial

From that point, Volaré knew they would be able to grow and get their name out on social media for all to see. Unlike most companies, Volaré’s objective was not to just sell every DC4 hoodie they can but to keep making them for artists and get their style out there.

Building a strong foundation with reputable users would eventually help provide the success all clothing lines yearn for. Even if the piece that helped them gain that attention was hotboy considering it featured Meek Mill’s image on it, that didn’t stop them from creating it and putting it out there. Breiva explained,

“I wanted to make that hoodie. I’m gonna keep making, we’re not gonna be selling, if we get it to the artist, we get it to the artist, if we don’t it is for art.”

Breiva later went on to mention that building his career did not only start with online designing and selling. He had the idea of building a community that comes through interacting with other people that share the same ideas and styles.

 

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🛫Thank you for everyone who managed to stop by our installation this past weekend we really appreciate the love you’ve given us here in The City Of Toronto 🙏🏾 We can’t wait to come back and do more for the creative talents in this city! For those who wasn’t able to come by, please keep a look out for our upcoming events! We would love to connect with you 🙏🏾 — Photographed by @whoisjjj of @disposableaffair

A post shared by The Official Page Of volaré® (@volareofficial) on Aug 27, 2018 at 4:00pm PDT

His ideal way of doing this was by starting up an event that brought the fashion community together — enter THE NIGHTMARKET. With no major tradeshows like Agenda or Hypefest ever popping up in Toronto, Breiva took it upon himself to push the envelope in hopes of one day bringing that same major exposure to the city.

THE NIGHTMARKET is not essentially just for Volaré, but for other smaller artists all over to come together to:

“Evolve as fast and as consistent as possible to be ready for the bigger thing. We want to act as the person that we needed when we were struggling in the beginning, so we can hopefully help that someone else.”

This market invites new vendors every week for an opportunity to show off and sell their products getting 100% of the sales. This gives artists the chance to make an actual profit from their work while building personal relationships that can help them down the road.

 

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We’re back this Thursday!! Thank you @hereloveshop for celebrating your 1 year anniversary with us last Thursday here at #theonlynightmarket !! 🎉🎉🎉 📸@hiewz — 499 King St West (@spiceroutetoronto) Free Admission $150 bottle service specials Must be 19+ to attend Doors open 8PM-LATE

A post shared by THE NIGHTMARKET™ (@theonlynightmarket) on Oct 2, 2018 at 9:47am PDT

This resembles the original vision of Mark Breiva and the Volaré team had since day one. The fashion house has motivated many to do more and has allowed others to realize that they don’t need a store to sell their clothing.

When asked about any advice he had for up and coming creatives looking in from the outside, Breiva had this solid piece to take away:

“Do what you want to do. Think about all the options and go for the best one. Really just think about the negative side of everything too and how you can make it better before you even start it.”

You don’t need anyone but yourself to do what you want to do. Word to Mark Breiva and Volaré!

Fini Shoes is one of the fashion industry’s newest contributors establishing themselves in the game. The innovative new brand comes into the game with the intention to bring comfortability and versatility in ways you have never seen before. But how so? Fini brings you one shoe with three accessories that morph it into five different pairs.

Their site describes itself as “a lifestyle shoe engineered and designed for maximum comfort and durability without forgoing the luxury the aesthetic.” After getting the chance to test out my own pair, I can tell you that they aren’t lying!

Kulture Hub was able to catch up the creator of Fini Shoes, Damilola Adepoju, about his journey so far, the vision behind the brand, and how he plans to make these a household name.

Originally from Nigeria, Adepoju came to the US in 2008 and began going to school at Clarkson University. Despite studying Mechanical Engineering, Dami always had a thing for footwear. He explained to me,

“I always was a shoe collector, but never because how popular the shoe was. I always collected shoe that I liked, no other reasons.”

The idea of Fini came about in 2013 when Adepoju went on a spring break to Jamaica and realized that clothes and shoes, in particular, were not that versatile. Leaving Upstate New York in the heart of winter, and going to Jamaica will get you thinkin’.

“When I was leaving to Jamaica I began to think, what if there was a shoe in which I would be able to wear in New York where I was leaving from, and in Jamaica where I was going.”

 

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@finishoes – Always smile more than you cry, give more than you take , love more than you hate. It’s the way. #Finishoes #finibullying

A post shared by FINI SHOES ®️ (@finishoes) on Sep 26, 2018 at 10:56am PDT

From there Adepoju made it his quest to create a shoe with versatility, a shoe that can be worn in the Tropics of Jamaica, and the of New York’s Winter — a shoe that is able to be worn at work, then straight to the club!

The key differentiator that sets Fini shoes apart from all market competitors is the unique, never seen before customization element. According to their site:

“THE SHOE ALLOWS THE WEARER TO ADD MULTIPLE ADD-ONS THROUGH A SEAMLESS AND MINIMAL ZIPPER CONCEPT; THE WEARER HAS THE ABILITY AND CHOICE TO SWITCH OUT PART OF THEIR SHOE TO BECOME A COMPLETELY NEW SHOE. IT CAN BE WORN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS AND CAN ADAPT TO ANY ENVIRONMENT DEPENDING ON THE SHOE ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE.”

For all of the outfit re-wearers out there, Fini will make your life a whole lot easier.

With this new and creative product, owning a pair of Fini’s allows you to switch it up literally whenever you want. Dami credits his love for fashion and attention to detail to his mother, who constantly instilled the value in always looking presentable. He told me,

“From young age, my mother always told me you only get one shot at a first impression, so I always want to dress myself the best I can everytime I leave the house.”

The road to Fini’s 2018 release was not an easy one. Adepoju made over seven prototypes in several different factories even across the world. The manufacturing of Fini originally began in NYC but after securing the international partners is now producing his products in China.

 

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Available on finishoes.com 📍 and ships out immediately until supply last. #Finishoes #Myfinis #Finifam #finibullying

A post shared by FINI SHOES ®️ (@finishoes) on Sep 17, 2018 at 2:13pm PDT

Adepoju describes the process of working with sketch artists, to then making a three-dimensional model, and finally finding a factory to get it right as “daunting.”

“When you are working with a factory, and they tell you ‘Yeah, we can do it give us 3 weeks.’ You give them the time, and then they say they need more time. Then they send you something that is not what you envisioned.”

In addition to factories failing to manufacture the product to Adepoju’s liking initially, they’d often ask for more money to try get it right.

When they still didn’t create the shoe correctly they’d simply tell Dami that they did not want to do business with him any longer. While constantly being told that his vision is not possible to create, he was also feeling the pinch from his parents to find a job within his area of study at Clarkson.

 

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MTV style interviewing Fini founder @badwine during #NYFW event. #finishoes #finibullying #Myfinis #finifam

A post shared by FINI SHOES ®️ (@finishoes) on Sep 12, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT

Dami explained,

“My parents started to be very vocal letting me know I that I had to get a job, so I did. After only working at my first job for only a month I went on to find a job in which I had flexibility in my hours so that I could still work out Fini ”

Adepoju stuck through, and soon enough, Adepoju was able to able to not have a day job any longer and make Fini his sole focus.

In 2018 Fini Shoes finally debuted. Running at $129, and available in colors wheat, black, and white, he offered a shoe unlike any other product on the market. Fini even held a pop up shop this year at New York Fashion Week.

Regarding Fashion Week, Adepoju also says that something that people don’t realize is how many events are actually going on at once.

There are brands from all of the world here in New York, trying to get as many people as people possible to come to their events. So in reality, these fashion week events are not really that top secret!

Adepoju plans to follow up his 2018 New York Fashion Week appearance by bringing Fini into stores within the next year!

For now, Fini is available to be purchased on FiniShoes.com.

Everyone knows the name Fashion Nova. Nowadays, it’s rarer if you haven’t heard of it. Most likely, you’ve scrolled past a curvalicious Insta-hottie rocking one of the brand’s body-hugging pop-colors on your newsfeed.

The company’s growth has been described as “explosive” by founder Richard Saghian, who said that within the past year, the site has had 75% of its user traffic return to shop again within 90 days.

Although the brand has an active social presence, the most attractive part aisthe low-cost pieces and outfits.

Over the short three years, the company has been around, Fashion Nova has become so much more than a retail brand. Today, it can be considered a statement of activism.

It’s hard enough finding decent clothing, and everyone has their own preference on what types of clothing match them best, Fashion Nova offers styles that flatter any type of body, even accommodating styles that fit pregnant women.

@zi.___ is Such a #NovaBabe💁‍♀️⠀ Search: “Ancient Rome Dress”⠀ 🛍Shop www.FashionNova.com🛍

A post shared by FashionNova.com (@fashionnova) on Mar 12, 2018 at 12:02pm PDT

@asia_penelope looks AMAZING in FN! Search: “Bradshaw Skinny Jeans”⠀ Tag @fashionnovacurve #FashionNova For A Chance To Be Featured!⠀ ✨www.FashionNova.com✨

A post shared by Fashion Nova Curve ™ (@fashionnovacurve) on Mar 12, 2018 at 11:09am PDT

Spring time vibes 🌺 #novababe

A post shared by Stephanie Villalobos 🌶 (@stephvillastyle) on Mar 11, 2018 at 6:21pm PDT

Make A Splash (No Water Required)😉⠀ @shakyra.kakes is Such a #NovaBabe💁‍♀️⠀ Search: “Sleek And Slither Swimsuit”⠀ 🛍Shop www.FashionNova.com🛍

A post shared by FashionNova.com (@fashionnova) on Feb 28, 2018 at 6:13pm PST

Saghian shared his thoughts on Fashion Nova’s resolve, and how its mission includes discontinuing the idea that revered fashion authorities come only from the runway.

“The concept is that the runways are dying. If you think about it, why did they have runways before? Because there was no internet. People are now looking at their feed for fashion inspiration more than they are the runways.”

And though Fashion Nova hasn’t been the first to capitalize on this market, the product line is able to offer customers something others haven’t. Known for its active social presence, what attracts costumers most is the low-cost, affordable clothing.

Working with over 500 sewing factories, 80% of Fashion Nova products are made in LA. Since it’s such a high volume of consumers, the company launches 500 new pieces a week, offering their audience a variety of garments, accessories, shoes, beauty accessories, and more. Dresses and jeans don’t cost more than $50, and shirts can be found as low as $5. A 2-day flat rate shipping only costs $6.

Fashion Nova is known for its onboarding of some of the hottest Instagram models and celebrities out there.

With over 3,000 active ambassadors, the brand has partnered with trend-setting influencers like Cardi B, Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, and Amber Rose to vouch for the company and gain loyalty to their fans, increasing revenue, and has been noted for on-boarding the flyest trailblazers in the game, like Frankie Bikini’s Sophia Jamora.

lowkey shivering fit: @fashionnova

A post shared by Sofia Jamora (@sofiajamora) on Feb 17, 2018 at 1:09pm PST

Fashion bloggers across the internet are also rejoicing at being able to constantly change up their outfits without breaking the bank.

In some cases, Fashion Nova will even pay people to advertise their clothing for them or send them new things to try out. Bloggers can then offer their followers a discount code, instantly gaining trust and notoriety by proxy.

Yas or nah to this look ? 🤓 | outfit @fashionnova use code ‘Amirahxo’ for 20% off #novababe

A post shared by Cake Queen (@amirahdyme) on Feb 28, 2018 at 7:31am PST

At this point, it feels like Fashion Nova is less about fashion and more about showing women of all kinds the options available for them.

The company has amalgamated a bigger vision into one site: No matter who you are or what you look like, no matter how small or large, no matter what stage your body is in, Fashion Nova’s clothing will have you looking very fly for very little.