Fashion became a communal celebration at Streets & Avenues, a Feb. 10 hip-hop event at an unlikely location – MIT’s Music and Theater Arts Department – hosted by McKersin Previlus, a lecturer and artist-in-residence at the school who is executive artistic director of the Lakaï Dance Theatre.
Streets & Avenues gave equal stature to the sounds of hip-hop and its style, which originated in the late 1970s and early 1980s as worn by early DJs, dance crews, rappers and fans – kids reinterpreting other styles of the day such as disco club wear and making it their own with what was available to them. Timberland boots and Dickies work gear were popular because they were affordable and available from local Army Navy stores.
Today, street style is global, everywhere from Paris Fashion Week to local high schools.
“Street style for me is where everything started,” said Shanise DeSilva, winner of the 2023 Boston Fashion Award for Stylist of the Year, and the stylist behind Streets & Avenues. “Hip-hop and music, that’s my first love. Before fashion, I loved music. So to see them intertwine, I just feel like it’s a good thing.”
“When you look good, you feel good,” DeSilva said. “It changes the energy and the frequency around you.”
DeSilva, of Roxbury, showed designs from a new line of urban wear featuring flirty metallic miniskirts and flowy mesh blouses alongside bright-colored bomber jackets and painted leather trench coats. The models looked straight out of an early 2000s girl group: feminine with a tough edge.
Next were patterned bodysuits, puffer matching sets, floral and metallic long coats and screen-printed graphic Ts by Boston brand Just Bodied. The bodysuits featured bandana print motifs with a teardrop paisley pattern originated in Persia, a streetwear staple beloved for its versatility.
The third designer, Fadayz Designz, showed off a series of crossbody and tote bags, hoodies and bucket hats made from upcycled materials. The hoodies are boxy with structured round collars and rectangular pockets on the chest. Models wore floral and geometric patterns and swung the crossbody duffel bags with the brand’s logo patch as they strutted.
DeSilva cast the models. “They were having so much fun,” she said, “and I’m so grateful for that because I was going all over the place.”
She started working as a runway stylist in 2018. “I love fashion. I’ve loved to dress people since I was young,” DeSilva said. “It’s the women in my family’s hereditary thing – we all can dress.”
“You see so many stylish people in Roxbury, so it was just a natural thing for me,” DeSilva said.
The Streets & Avenues emcee was spoken word poet Amanda Shea – sporting a custom-made piece by Cambridge-based designer Nicoletta Lyons (also known by LolasBoston) – who kept the energy up between designers with help from DJ Troy Frost. “If you’re sleepy, this probably isn’t the show for you” Shea warned the audience.
Rapper and Hyde Park native Clark D flew in from Atlanta to close out the night.
A stronger
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