Elle USA - 09.2019

Meet six

stellar talents

making waves

far beyond

the Big Apple.

By Naomi

Rougeau

This

Is

New

Yo r k

THE SOCIAL

CONSCIENCE

Refuse Club

@refuseclub

Anyone who still
believes fashion
can’t tackle serious
issues would do well
to check out Refuse
Club. Founders Yuner
Shao and “Stef”
Puzhen Zhou are
seeking to fuel the
#MeToo conversation
in their home country
of China, which has
been silenced by the
government (hence
their decision to show
in New York). Look
for unisex ensembles
featuring censorship-
inspired messaging.

THE

EMPOWERMENT

ADVOCATE

Burnett New York

@burnettnewyork

Few purchases in a

woman’s life are as

memorable or as

stressful as her wedding

dress. But the process

was seamless for former

Goldman Sachs analyst

Sterling McDavid,

thanks to Emily Burnett,

then the creative

director of Dennis

Basso. The two hit it off

so well, they decided

to launch Burnett New

York. The philanthropy-

driven brand takes

women from the office

to the dressiest of

black-tie events, all

while supporting female

education initiatives.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

Tomo Koizumi

@tomokoizumi

When a relatively unknown Japanese

costume designer—plucked from Instagram

obscurity by stylist Katie Grand—staged

the most buzzed-about show of New York

Fashion Week, the fashion world took notice.

And while Tomo Koizumi’s larger-than-life

tulle confections may not be the most

practical IRL, word has it that the designer

would love to roll out a slightly scaled-down,

but no less kaleidoscopic, capsule collection.

FOR MORE ON BURNETT

NEW YORK’S EMILY

BURNETT AND STERLING

MCDAVID, PLUS FIVE

OTHER DYNAMIC WOMEN

IN NEW YORK FASHION,

SEE THE FOLLOWING PAGE.

TOMO KOIZUMI: ANDREW TESS; BURNETT NEW YORK: SJR PHOTOGRAPHY; REFUSE CLUB: KAM LIN.

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