WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Uptown Fashion Week is letting fans get closer to the runway than ever before.
For the first time, attendees will be able to purchase the clothes that they see on the runways at a boutique shopping event held the day after the show.
The sale, to be held on Feb. 14 at El Morocco in Hamilton Heights, is part of an expanded slate of fashion events at Uptown Fashion Week, which now includes a closing runway show featuring lesser-known, up-and-coming designers.
Event director Albania Rosario said the sales event was created after she was inundated with requests from eager shoppers last year.
"A lot of the questions were, 'Where can people buy these clothes and have a one-on-one with the designers?'" Rosario said. "So we we added an extra day for sales."
The main attraction this year is still the Feb. 13 show at the United Palace, which will feature the fall and winter collections of 12 designers from Latin America and the United States.
The complete lineup of designers for the main show will be revealed on Feb. 11, however Rosario said it would be headlined by Haitian designer Charles Corvsky Dieujuste, Adrianne Echavarria from Bolivia, Carlos Vigil from Peru, Jusef Sanchez from Dominican Republic and New Yorkers Angel Ayala and Paul Carroll.
Those who purchase $75 tickets to the United Palace show will get free admission and first access to the sales event, which costs $15 per person otherwise, Rosario added.
Now in its fourth year and backed by the Washington Heights Business Improvement District, Rosario said that it was getting easier for Uptown Fashion Week to draw designers such as Project Runway alum Michael Costello, who headlined September's show.
"We've been getting so many articles that it's not a challenge to get designers," Rosario said. "The real challenge is choosing the 12."
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit uptownfashionweek.com.
