New York Fashion Week is upon us again and in true pre-care style, Converse and Martine Ali, local metalhead and accessory guru, teamed up to celebrate women leaders in the creative world. Last Friday was a night of intimate wining and dining, hosted in a freshly unveiled art studio in lower Manhattan, Morwins Office. The event, produced by Maddy Crawford, emulated an underground, candlelit cult convention, graced by New York’s leading young women in fashion, with guests the likes of Briana Andalore, Kim Shui, Lourdes Leon, Raisa Flowers, and Jazzelle (aka UglyWorldwide). Martine, who creative directed the event, elaborated to V, “This evening was meant to celebrate not only how impactful women are in fashion and wider creative fields, but also their existence and gravitas in ways we don’t even realize. I do love a party, but needed to be a much more intimate and memorable moment.”

After selecting a gorgeous cocktail at the courtesy of Rosaluna Mezcal and Ette Vodka (my personal favorite was the jet-black dirty martini), guests were seated around a lavish U-shaped table adorned with edible decorations. Amongst piles of grapes, berries, and meringues, guests were treated to a five-course meal, curated by Alimentari Flaneur. The beautiful plates of shaved cheeses, pink blueberries, balsamic pearls, finger limes, and crab claws were the perfect accompaniment to the inspiring conversation ensuing around the table. A silver cake stuffed with florals, by MIEL, taunted guests throughout the evening.

In the lead-up to the week ahead, stylists, designers, journalists, and all kinds of artists had taken a slight pause to their respective chaos to be together. “I was so glad to excuse myself from the studio to be here,” said Kim Shui to V. “This week is intense, but it always comes together.” Everyone was buzzing about their projects and goals for the coming year, and throughout the evening, a 3D resin printer quietly whirred away in a corner of the room. In such a creative space, the wheels could be seen constantly turning; Martine shared with V, “My latex dress ripped in many places as soon as I got there; luckily the host of the space had black electrical tape to patch it up and it was a vibe!”

After dinner, guests were handed a box and guided to a fitting room. A bespoke pair of Converse shoes awaited, customized by Martine Ali and her team. Each shoe had its own essence, a spirit-shoe if you will, that matched the wearer’s personal style, “The converse xxhi was the perfect canvas for this sort of expression, and it was really amazing to transform this one style into so many iterations,” Martine tells V. Some guests received bedazzled or neon laces, others got 5 inch platforms, and some shoes were metal studded from toe to knee, and some were freestyled by Martine and her team, Daniel Matveev and Caloy Bangah. For the rest of the night, people clutched their boxes closely, or ditched their original shoes in favor of their new favorite footwear. The evening ended on a high, over pieces of the chrome cake, which Dorian Ferrer stuffed in my mouth with a slice of peach.

Although fashion week in recent years has felt lackluster, far from the gate-keepy aloofness we have all grown accustomed to during NYFW, the Martine Ali x Converse event felt like a gathering of people pre-selected based on their obvious compatibility.

Young creatives are often overlooked as the idealistic slightly-too-experimental partycrashers of the industry, but who else is prioritizing the creation of these scenes over tradition and the status quo? It’s time to get back to fostering a real creative community, where trailblazers in their own right can call each other peers and friends. I’m putting my money on young designers this fashion week, let’s hope our elders are paying attention.