COURIER LIFE, JULY 9-15, 2021 17
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
BY JESSICA PARKS
Display windows at Marine Park’s
Kings Plaza were given a facelift last
month when a cohort of young artists
and designers glamorized storefronts
as a symbol of rebirth for the center.
“We had the opportunity to dress
up our storefronts with creative artists
and installations in the community,”
said Dawn Simon, Kings Plaza’s
senior marketing manager.
The decorative displays were a part
of a project called “The Trail of Art,”
produced by Kings Plaza in collaboration
with the Brooklyn Style Foundation
— the organization behind Brooklyn’s
annual Fashion Week. The project
aimed to bring beauty to storefronts
left empty during the coronavirus pandemic,
while also showcasing the work
of New York City’s young creators.
“I took the opportunity to call
Brooklyn Style Foundation … who we
have a longstanding relationship with,
and I said ‘Hey, I need a creative solution
to beautify our storefronts,'” said
Simon, “and here we are.”
The displays were spread across
all three fl oors of the mall at the corner
of Avenue U and Flatbush Avenue
— and included a wide variety of designs,
from streetwear to high fashion,
and sustainable clothing to non-liquid
wearable scents.
To unveil the designs, Kings Plaza
hosted a scavenger hunt on June 26 encouraging
shoppers to search for the 19
display windows throughout the mall.
Voodo Fe from Brooklyn-based Art
Gang, a creative brand focused on being
“different, defi ant, and free,” designed
a display featuring a mannequin
tatted with a collage of images,
standing on a bed of colorful fl owers in
front of spray-painted images of Nipsey
Hussle and James Harden.
Fe said his designs just fl ow from
him without any prior planning beforehand,
and fi nds confi dence knowing
creating art is his calling in life.
“On every level from music, art,
fashion, design — I don’t have a sketchbook,”
Fe said. ”I’ve done this over
8,000 times, like I know what my lane
is. I am supposed to do this art.”
Claire Fleury, an independent fashion
designer with an eponymous label,
showcased a fantastical spread laced
in funky retro notes. She said she participated
in the event as a supporter of
Brooklyn Style Foundation’s founder
Rick Davy’s mission to uplift young designers
and reintroduce independent,
sustainable fashion into the industry.
“He does a lot for fashion, as in
taking it away from the industry for
sustainable fashion, for community,”
Feury told Brooklyn Paper. “He supports
a lot of young, mostly BIPOC
people to get ahead in fashion and to
slowly change the fashion industry
and I am all for all of that.”
Sayoko, of recyclable fashion brand
Sayoko Creations, used her display
to showcase what she says she does
best — creating beautiful sustainable
clothing and accessories from reused
materials. This time around, her material
of choice was molded paper, most
commonly used to make egg cartons.
“I had an idea of molding fabric but
because of the pandemic I wasn’t able
to mold fabric, so I decided to mold paper,”
Sayoko told Brooklyn Paper.
Simon said she was impressed with
the creativity of the displays seen
throughout the mall, which all together
invoke a sense of community.
“It is defi nitely unique, it’s defi -
nitely energetic, it’s defi nitely creative
and the artists did an amazing job of
unifying our storefronts,” Simon said.
“I love the fact that they can express
themselves in a way that blends in
with the mall.”
Second
looks
Artists beautify
mall’s empty
window displays
OPEN WINDOWS: Artist Voodo Fe participated in beautifying Kings Plaza to help boost young artists. Photo by Jessica Parks