Suzette Opara: 828 Collection At Fashion On The Hudson!

 BWIF had a chance to witness the New York City premiere of 828 Collection in Riverbank State Park at Fashion on the Hudson. And what a beautiful collection it was!!

Suzette Opara (left)

Suzette Opara, it's Lead Designer is a self taught designer based out in Chicago with family lineage from West Africa, Nigeria. After an inability to get work with a degree in Marketing, Suzette decided to purchase a sewing machine, play with fabrics and taught her self to sew! Enjoy our brief sit down with Suzette Opara and the images from 828 Collection.

BWIF: Tell us about 828 Collection
Suzette: The name 828 began as my birthday August 28th, however after researching I found deeper meaning to the name. It's when Dr. King gave his "I had a Dream" speech, it was the day Emmett Till was murdered and the bible verse, Roman 8:28.

 BWIF:  Describe the 828 customer
Suzette: She's the woman that likes to go out often, enjoys life, stand out amongst the crowd and doesn't want to see her twin. She knows her body and want works for her.

 BWIF: Where do you pull inspiration 
Suzette: Most of my inspiration comes from music. When I see the videos I think of what the girls should be wearing in them.

 BWIF:  What advice can you share with other designers who lack the traditional schooling background?
Suzette: Love what you do! Keep God first, because it will get frustrating. Know your craft! Study everything fashion, surround yourself with people in the field who can help you and you can bounce ideas off of...

 Add Suzette to your Facebook friends - search Suzette Opara. www.828collection.com will launch in two weeks!

There were soo many images from this show I had to create a slide show to capture it, see it after the jump -  enjoy!