ENVSN Festival was held at Brooklyn Studios in Citypoint, Downtown Brooklyn. The two-day event held from October 1 to 2 brought an audience interested in the fashion industry to experience and engage with brands and local businesses. ENVSN Festival in NYC is an annual festival and conference that features conversations, networking, discovery, and entertainment, expanding into a multidimensional community supporting the professional and self-development of Generation Z and Millennial achievers, specifically.
Founded by industry veterans Sharifa Murdock, the Chief Visionary Officer, and partner Laura Stylez, ENVSN allows small businesses and big brands to share a space a foster broader communities. Notable brands offered activations and experiences for guests, alongside local businesses introducing their fashion, vintage collections, food, and self-care products to all that wandered the event space.
Kappa, the heritage Italian sportswear brand, hosted a tooth gem pop-up booth at the Brooklyn Studios venue. The new trend in dentistry was available for participants who fancied a studded smile while waiting between panels. Streetwear powerhouse Kith and its Kith Treats component set up an ice cream bar enticing guests with a sweet tooth. Kith Treats curated ice cream cups and milkshakes with ingredients reflecting the personality of ENVSN fest affiliates, including the founders Murdock and Stylez and past panel guest Mia Kang.
Kith branded ENVSN Festival tees were available for purchase, along with the custard creations. The Brooklyn Circus brand, notable for its elevated rendition of streetwear fashion, put on a demonstration with models wearing outfits resembling the Black Panther Party, holding signs with the call-to-action to ‘Heal our Women.’ Along with its performative art, The Brooklyn Circus also sold tees with printed graphics of the poster designs displayed at the booth and by the models in the demonstration.
Global streetwear and sneaker boutique Atmos set up a screenprint station for guests to print different Atmos logo designs onto tote bags. The retailer started in Harajuku, Tokyo, and was founded by Hommyo Hidefumi in 2000. Atmos began by selling vintage sneakers and aligning with ENVSN Festival, along with established brands Kith and Kappa, these names lend a hand to emerging local businesses by sharing a platform for community and commerce.
Local brands like Harlem-based Haitian Bae advocate for the promotion of Haitian history as a substantial part of Black history with Haitian-Creole language and phrases printed onto t-shirts, hoodies, and snapback hats, and The Narrative vintage shop with a curation of thrifted garments with storytelling design elements, were positioned next to familiar names in fashion, art, and culture. Panels discussed everything from fashion activism and women in media to sexual health and a conversation with Criscia Nicole Long, the Senior Director of Entertainment for the Brooklyn Nets, NY Liberty, and LI Nets.
As a founding team member of one of the industry’s contemporary fashion forums and trade shows Project, Sharifa Murdock recognizes the importance of supporting talent from all over fashion. In partnering with Laura Stylez., a radio personality at HOT97 in New York City who has over fifteen years of experience as a dynamic on-air host and operates as an event producer, talent curator, and community leader, these women are creating a path for the next generation to navigate the fashion industry.
ENVSN Festival has been expanding to major cities in the two years it has been operating, starting in New York City, and holding an event in Miami. Murdock has a keen understanding of industry trends and emerging brands and founded “The Brooklyn Intern,” an organization working with high school students, providing an opportunity to experience exclusive internships in the fashion industry. ENVSN welcomes those students and others to envision themselves in the fashion industry.
