Doing the Catwalk at King Towers
On February 27, the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF), SCAN-Harbor, and NYCHA joined local designers and residents to host the Urban Alliance Fashion Show at King Towers in Harlem. The original pieces were designed by residents with the help of artist-in-residence Corey Harrison, and two local fashion designers (Michael Davis AKA Unseen Mike and Jashawn Kemp of Hope Supply), and modeled by community members. The initiative empowered residents as creators and cultural leaders, culminating in the public fashion show, celebrating their designs, creativity, and growth.
“The Urban Alliance Fashion Show gave residents a wonderful opportunity to showcase their creativity and share it with the community through these one-of-a-kind designs,” said Kemi Karim, Senior Manager of Art and Culture at the Public Housing Community Fund. “This fashion show wasn’t just a chance to bring their ideas to life, participants also gained real-world skills and discovered new passions along the way. Through From Roots to Arts, we’re witnessing what’s possible when residents have the tools and opportunity to shape their own stories — coming together to create art that is bold, stylish, and rooted in community power.”
“The Urban Alliance Fashion Show was not only a fun way of highlighting the style and creativity of King Towers’ residents, but it was also an innovative way of bringing the community together through a shared love of fashion,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “The event was the perfect culmination of the Unseen Upcycle program, which gave residents the opportunity to work with local artists and designers to learn the practical skills necessary to create the spectacular original designs on display at the show. We are very thankful to our partners at the Public Housing Community Fund and SCAN-Harbor, as well as artist-in residence Corey Harrison and designers Michael Davis and Jashawn Kemp, for their dedication to showcasing the creativity and passion inherent in so many NYCHA residents at King Towers.”
“As someone who grew up at King Towers, this program feels deeply personal to me. Watching our residents spend six months learning to sew, upcycle, and bring their designs to life has been incredibly powerful. The Unseen Upcycle program wasn’t just about fashion — it was about confidence, creativity, and showing our young people what’s possible when they’re given the space to lead,” said Iesha Lewis, Program Director of SCAN at the King Towers Community Center.
The fashion show is the culmination of the Unseen Upcycle program, designed to equip residents with practical sewing and upcycling skills while building confidence, cultural awareness, and life readiness through fashion. Hosted at the SCAN-Harbor Community Center, the three artists and designers worked with community residents over six months teaching them sewing skills, patternmaking, and finalizing designs. The program blended hands-on technical instruction with financial literacy, storytelling, and exploration of fashion as a tool for identity and self-expression.
The program is part of PHCF’s From Roots to Arts, an innovative artist-in-residency pilot program in partnership with NYCHA, the NYC Public Design Commission, the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, and NYCHA residents. This 20-month residency endeavor offers dedicated spaces within community centers and aims to expand culture, heritage, and art narratives within public housing by empowering local artists and residents to create with and for their communities.
About the Artists and Designers:
Corey “Noah” Harrison: Harrison is an artist-in-residence at King Towers, whose practice is rooted in a deep love for nature and environmental stewardship. Inspired by forests, gardens, and open landscapes from a young age, his work centers on reconnecting communities, especially young people, to the natural world. Through hands-on workshops, outdoor exploration, and eco-conscious projects, Harrison empowers children and residents to see themselves as caretakers of their environment. At King Towers, he brings sustainability, creativity, and community engagement together to cultivate spaces where nature and neighborhood thrive side by side.
Jahshawn Kemp: Kemp designed Hope Supply (Hottest. Planet. On. Earth), a Harlem-born brand that blends fashion with cultural identity and creative self-expression. The brand’s aesthetic leans into bold, individualistic design and casual, wardrobe-forward pieces, reflecting a streetwear ethos rooted in personal creativity and urban style.
Michael Davis AKA Unseen Mike: Unseen is an upcycling fashion brand founded by Harlem native Michael Davis. Unseen gives new life to discarded garments, transforming overlooked materials into intentional, one-of-a-kind pieces. The brand challenges the idea of what is considered valuable, elevating what was once unseen into bold expressions of identity, resilience, and style.
