A 2021 Trust grant to SoHarlem is allowing the West 126th Street creative-industry incubator to support more emerging designers and entrepreneurs, such as Andres Biel (left).
“I always felt I was destined to be a designer. I love to give people a sense of feeling good about themselves through fashion. Everybody wants that sense of positivity and recognition and I want to provide that for them.
I first learned to sew on an antique machine at the Henry Street Settlement House. I was a teenager working with Ruth Taube, who was in her eighties back then. I remember making a tote bag, which was all I could do at the time, but she gave me a basic knowledge of sewing. After I got my GED when I was 26 and began to take my life a little bit more seriously, I rediscovered that passion.
I knew I wanted to be in fashion, but it felt more like a dream. I was glued to YouTube and TV shows about fashion. I eventually took classes and learned enough to create garments that won the Emerging Designer Award at Harlem Fashion Week in 2019. Janet Rodriguez, the CEO of SoHarlem, was one of the judges and she invited me to join the organization.
At SoHarlem, I found a real community. I improved my skills; I got to challenge myself and get guidance to meet that challenge. SoHarlem gave me the strength to do it on my own, so I started my own brand, IFLYUNIVERSE.
We all help each other at SoHarlem. If one of the designers is working on a great project, he or she will reach out to the rest of us. And we all share information about opportunities or photographers and models we can work with.
In 2020, I watched and participated in the George Floyd marches, which influenced what I was designing at the time. I put together a collection using neon colors to show the messages of being safe, of being heard, of being seen.
The life I’m living now was not what I expected. I recently struck a deal to collaborate with the big clothing company Shein, where I provide them with my own designs. That helped me decide to become a full-time designer. In April I left my job as a paralegal.
This summer will be a full-circle moment for me, because I will be teaching young people about fashion at the Henry Street Settlement. I want to provide what I didn’t get when I was in need and searching for what I really wanted out of life.”