They were running, laughing, playing, and making friends without thinking twice about what
someone looked like or what neighborhood they came from.
They were just free.
At our core, Buffalo Fashion Runway is a fashion organization.
We love fashion, and we believe it is one of the most powerful forms of storytelling. Fashion celebrates culture, builds confidence, starts conversations, and gives people a way to express who they are without always having to say a word.
But from the beginning, we have also believed fashion can do more than that.
One of Buffalo Fashion Runway’s greatest strengths has always been our ability to bring people from completely different walks of life into the same space.
At one of our events, you might see an artist standing next to a CEO, a college student talking with an elected official, an entrepreneur meeting a nonprofit leader, or a family sitting beside people they have never met before. You will see people from different neighborhoods, backgrounds, races, generations, and life experiences all sharing the same room.
That did not happen by accident. It is something we have tried to build intentionally.
Early on, my co-founder Rodney Chatmon gave Buffalo Fashion Runway a slogan that has become a guiding philosophy for us: Beyond the Threads.
To us, that means we do more than fashion. We go beyond the threads.
Fashion is our foundation, but it is also the vehicle we use to bring people together, create opportunities, celebrate Buffalo’s diversity, and give local creatives a platform. Through our fashion shows, cultural programming, educational initiatives, and community events, we want to create spaces where people feel welcomed, inspired, and connected.
Ultimately, our goal has never been just to produce great fashion events.
It has always been about helping make Buffalo a better Buffalo.
That same philosophy is how The Main Block Party came to life.
Last year, M&T Bank invited entrepreneurs, creatives, business owners, nonprofit leaders, and community organizers to something called the Boozy Brainstorm. The purpose was to bring people together and ask them to think creatively about ways to bring more energy, activity, and people back to Downtown Buffalo.
Everyone came into the room with an idea.
The idea Buffalo Fashion Runway proposed was The Main Block Party, and fortunately, it was one of the ideas M&T selected to help bring to life.
The moment the idea came up, I was excited.
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, block parties were one of my favorite parts of the summer.
They were more than events. They were traditions.
The street would become a gathering place. Music would be playing throughout the neighborhood. Food would be everywhere. Kids would run around and play until the sun went down. Families would sit outside talking for hours. People celebrated together simply because they were neighbors.
There was something special about seeing an entire community come together like that. It did not matter what was going on in your life or where you came from. For those few hours, everyone belonged.
When I realized we had an opportunity to bring some of that same feeling to Downtown Buffalo, I knew we had something meaningful.
We call it a block party for the culture, but it is really more like a mini festival because there are so many different things for people to experience.
There is fashion and a live fashion activation. There is music throughout Fountain Plaza. There is local food, including some of the best jerk chicken you will find from Taste of Haiti. There are artists, small businesses, vendors, community organizations, family activities, and interactive experiences.
The event is designed so that no matter your age or your interests, there is something there for
w ith someone they may not have met otherwise.
When I think back to last year’s inaugural event, my favorite memory was not the fashion activation, one of the performances, or even seeing more than 1,500 people gathered in Fountain Plaza.
It was watching the kids.
I remember looking toward the bounce house and the ice rink and seeing children from every background simply being children. Black kids, white kids, Hispanic kids, Asian kids.
They were running, laughing, playing, and making friends without thinking twice about what someone looked like or what neighborhood they came from.
They were just free.
Adults spend a lot of time talking about the things that divide us. Kids have a way of reminding us how naturally community can happen when we simply create the space for it.
Standing there, I remember thinking that maybe this is what we are really trying to build.
Not just an event, but a place where Buffalo can see the best version of itself.
I moved to Buffalo from Brooklyn to attend Buffalo State University. At the time, I never imagined Buffalo would eventually become home, but somewhere along the way, it did.
Over the last decade, I have watched this city continue to surprise me.
I have watched entrepreneurs take chances on Buffalo. I have watched artists bring new life to neighborhoods. I have watched organizations choose collaboration over competition. I have watched foundations invest in ideas that started with nothing more than a vision. I have watched government, nonprofits, businesses, and residents work together because they believed something was worth building.
Sometimes I think Buffalo forgets how capable it is. We know how to rally around a Bills game. We know how to come together during moments of tragedy. The Main Block Party reminds me that we can also rally around creativity, small businesses, culture, entrepreneurship, our neighborhoods, and simply spending time together.
When we want to, we can.
We can create opportunities for local entrepreneurs. We can celebrate artists and creatives. We can introduce families to organizations and resources they may not have known existed. We can bring thousands of people Downtown for something that is simply about joy, culture, and community.
That is probably what excites me most.
The Main Block Party is not really about Buffalo Fashion Runway. It is about Buffalo
It is about what can happen when we intentionally create spaces where people from different walks of life can come together.
New friendships can begin. Businesses can grow. Families can discover new resources. Children can create memories they carry with them for years.
For one afternoon, Downtown Buffalo can feel like the block parties I remember growing up.
A place where people gather. A place where people connect. A place where everyone belongs.
That is what Beyond the Threads has always meant to me.
Using fashion to bring people together. Using creativity to strengthen community.
