On a humid 90-degree day last July, nearly 400 people sat shoulder-to-shoulder inside the Fedder Building on East Main Street. Handheld fans and sweating bottles of Modelo took the edge off, and any discomfort was forgotten as the first-ever Rochester Fashion Runway program began. For the next two hours, more than 10 designers, 20 performing artists and 100 models presented the region’s most hip underground fashion show — one that sold out to standing room only and immediately outgrew the rambling warehouse in its first year.
To understand how such an event was executed in just 10 months requires understanding the team at work behind the scenes — in particular, founder and executive director Aliyah Delice. Rewind to December 2024, when then-restaurant server Delice and photographer Rudy Fabre (who also freelances for CITY Magazine) took a roadtrip down the thruway for Buffalo Fashion Runway, a large-scale event then in its second year. Fabre was shooting the show and invited his friend Delice because she was newly interested in the fashion scene after being recruited to model for boutique owner Chantiza Singh while serving her table at Roux on Park Avenue.
When the duo arrived at Shea’s Buffalo for the show, Fabre was off to shoot, and Delice was tempted to pull out her phone but noticed everyone else was networking. So, she began talking to other local leaders her age until the program started…