Stamford native featured in fashion show
Brianna Cummings has wanted to be a fashion designer since high school. At Harvey School in Katonah, N.Y., she developed a passion for painting and drawing, and combined that with her love of fashion.
Now, as a rising senior studying fashion design at Virginia Commonwealth University, the Stamford native’s goals are becoming a reality.
Last month, the 21-year- old was the youngest designer to show a collection for Harlem Week, which hosts a fashion show and other events attended by more than 2 million people each year in Upper Manhattan.
Cummings was approached to do the show by Shelton resident Deborah Williams, a friend of her mother’s who organizes the Harlem Week fashion show.
Williams was in the fashion industry for 15 years — she had a line of athletic apparel at Macy’s called Her Game 2 — and now serves as the fashion director for all of the Harlem Week fashion shows (there are four throughout the summer).
“The show gives a platform to aspiring designers, models and hair and makeup artists,” she said.
Williams, who has known the Cummings family for more than 10 years, has been aware of Cummings’ fashion aspirations for some time.
“I’ve been watching Brianna. I remember when she just was starting to talk about how she was interested in fashion and she reached out to talk to me about the business,” Williams said. “She’s got a good eye. I saw some pictures she had posted of things she was working on in school and I said, ‘I definitely see a talent in her, and if we can cultivate that a little bit, she can really do something.’ ”
Cummings got to work on a collection of day- to- night pieces to show. It was the first collection Cummings designed and sewed all on her own, and she used it to launch her own brand called Meraki Essence. “Meraki” is a Greek word that means “to put yourself into what you do.” The meaning resonated with Cummings, who was coming off a discouraging school year.
“It was a really rough school year. My pieces didn’t make the show for school that we have each year,” she said.
Creating the collection for Harlem Week gave Cummings the creative freedom she did not have with her school assign- ments.
“It was definitely different because I had more free time to be more creative and not have a critique at the end. I really could showcase what I could do for myself,” she said.
Cummings said after the show, she was approached by women of all ages who were interested in her clothes.
“It’s really for everybody, that’s my goal,” she said. “For everyone to feel comfortable regardless of age, plus- size or not.”
Her real passion, though, is bridal. After designing a long, formal gown for a project last year, Cummings knew that was her niche— and big things are now happening for her in that vein.
Cummings works as a consultant at Sixpence Bridal Boutique near school in Midlothian, Va., and her boss has given her the opportunity to design a line of bridal gowns to be sold in the store.
The gowns, she said, will be simple with the option to embellish. But most importantly, they will be affordable. Cum- mings said she is not interested in designing $ 25,000 gowns.
“I want everyone to be able to afford a wedding dress and look beautiful without breaking the bank,” she said.
For now, Cummings is staying in Virginia. Her main career goal is to keep building her brand and for her bridal collection to be picked up by other stores.
“Meraki Essence has helped me grow into the designer I am now,” she said.