When fashion designer and
longtime Astoria resident
Dayanne Danier was a
young girl growing up in
Massachusetts, her father
used to tell her and her
siblings to make sure they
were “bien abyé,” which means “welldressed”
in French Creole.
She took her father’s advice and
turned it into a career. While Danier
spent the early years of her professional
life designing menswear for
companies like Perry Ellis and Phillips
Van Heusen, her ultimate goal
was to live in New York and have
her own brand. Now, she does: She
runs Bien Abyé, which combines
chic personal style with touches of
Danier’s Creole roots.
After the 2010 earthquake hit Haiti,
Danier wanted to give back and help
remedy the destruction on the Caribbean
island. Given her family’s strong
belief in philanthropy, coupled with her
experience working at a company that
stressed corporate social responsibility,
“it was definitely inevitable that my
brand would look at the larger picture
of giving back and making an impact,”
she said.
28 OCTOBER 2020
And, of course, she found a way to
give back through fashion.
Danier met Queens-based Haitian-
American painter Patricia Brintle at the
Queens Museum in 2011, and the two
women hit it off. They partnered to created
a vibrant scarf that represents Haiti
and gives back to the country. They call
it the Rassemble scarf.
Fittingly, Rassemble means “to come
together” in Creole. The creative duo
frequently discussed Danier’s vision for
the scarf over lunch at Omonia Cafe
off Broadway. They decided to use
Brintle’s signature image of profiles of
Black women for the garment. Brintle
combined the stunning profiles and arranged
them with rich-colored leaves
against bright hues.
“At the time after the 2010 earthquake,
images of Haiti were full of destruction
and were dark,” said Danier,
who has lived in Astoria for 16 years.
“Growing up, I remember all the images
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Giving Back Through Fashion
BY ALLISON KRIDLE