A$AP Rocky, Kelly Rowland honored, Doug E. Fresh performs at Harlem's Fashion Row NYFW show
NEW YORK ? The glamour of New York Fashion Week is back for another season, and trailblazers Kelly Rowland and A$AP Rocky received their flowers to kick off the festivities.
The former child of Destiny and the "Fashion Killa" and new dad of two were both honored Tuesday night for their style and sartorial contributions at Harlem's Fashion Row Fashion Show and Style Awards, held at the legendary Apollo Theater.
Rowland earned the Fashion Icon Award (which last year went to Janet Jackson, praised by Rowland as an inspiration), while A$AP Rocky took home the Virgil Abloh Award, dedicated to the late designer.
Kelly Rowland recalls Destiny's Child fashion moments in Fashion Icon Award speech
Rowland, fresh off her support in the audience of Beyoncé's Renaissance tour in Los Angeles on Monday, received an emotional introduction from her husband, Tim Witherspoon, who said she "didn't know I was coming."
"I couldn't pass up this moment to tell you in front of the world that you have always been my icon, not just in fashion, but in all that you do," Witherspoon said. He praised her for "raising the bar for yourself and for others to move in this ever-changing industry, along with your refusal to show up as anything less than a fly model to our sons."
Witherspoon recounted the time an intern admired her shoes and Rowland instantly took them off and gifted them to her. "You'd give anyone the shirt off your back – and clearly the shoes off your feet," he said.
"My history with fashion actually started, I'm sure a lot of you know, with Destiny's Child," Rowland said in her speech. Designers and fashion gatekeepers "were very reluctant to dress us," so Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles "took matters into her own hands and she dressed us, and I learned there what it was like to start a trend. I remember what that felt like, the pride in it."
Rowland told the crowd of fellow Black people in the room, "We start the trends. We make what's cool, cool. Fashion should be grateful for us."
A$AP Rocky commemorates late designer and collaborator Virgil Abloh
True to form, A$AP Rocky went rogue on the stage, ditching a pre-written speech in favor of something from the heart as he accepted the Virgil Abloh Award.
"I feel how I look: good," he joked. "Everybody came up here all eloquent, they had written speeches and I ain't really write nothing because I wanted to come from the heart … (and) be sincere."
He recalled meeting Abloh with the ASAP Mob crew early in their careers. "Virgil discovered us as a bunch of kids, before I got my record deal. He was downtown in Soho just cooling, and we wasn't old enough to get into this club called Le Bain, so we would sneak in there … and Virgil peeped us. Unbeknownst to us, we ain't know that he knew who we was. He's like, 'Wait, y'all are those Harlem kids, the trendy ones.'
"We was tripping, like 'Wait, Virgil knows who we are, knows about us? The fashion world knows about us.' And a year later, I became A$AP Rocky – I mean, I always was A$AP Rocky, but I became famous, if you dig what I'm saying – and Virgil went on to design my first album cover, my first tour."
Last September: Janet Jackson kicks off New York Fashion Week with Christian Siriano, Harlem's Fashion Row
Doug E. Fresh beatboxes, celebrates 50 years of hip-hop
The night was also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and HFR had just the surprise for the crowd: Doug E. Fresh. The rapper and champion beatboxer commanded the stage, taking it back to earlier eras of the genre that officially turned 50 on Aug. 11.
Doug E. Fresh, who has Bajan roots, honored the Caribbean's influence on hip-hop with a guest of his own, bringing out Lil Vicious for their song "Freaks."
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Harlem's Fashion Row honors Stella Jean, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Johnny Nu?ez and stylists Wayman and Micah
Other honorees of the agency's fashion show and awards ceremony included stylist and Vogue global contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, dubbed editor of the year; celebrity styling duo Wayman and Micah, who have dressed everyone from Jodie Turner-Smith to Tessa Thompson and were selected as stylists of the year; designer Stella Jean, whose work (and February protest of Milan Fashion Week for lack of inclusivity and support for diverse designers) earned her designer of the year; and photographer Johnny Nu?ez, who received the hip-hop trailblazer honor.
TV host Tamron Hall introduced Jean and highlighted her "formidable spirit."
Karefa-Johnson gave a rousing speech about striving to "break down barriers," while Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald of Wayman and Micah praised the power of manifestation, sharing how a vision board session one night in a Harlem apartment led them to work together – and to score clients they wished for as they made those boards.
Nu?ez recalled his own story about the importance of that Harlem perseverence mentality, when he had to sneak into Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday celebration in 2003 after a last-minute ticket issue.
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Designer Dapper Dan and June Ambrose made appearances at the show, snapping photos in the crowd before things kicked off.
HFR's fashion show presented collections from several notable designers:
Nicole Benefield Portfolio, which showcased a master class in structure and tapped into the red trend with a stunning two-piece set.
Megan Renee, which highlighted masculine silhouettes with feminine elements.
And A. Potts, who took the audience to church with vibrant colors and flowing dresses.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ASAP Rocky, Kelly Rowland honored at Harlem's Fashion Row NYFW show
