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September is all about fashion, fashion, fashion. There is a New York fashion week, a London fashion week, a Milan fashion week and a Paris fashion week, each happening right after the previous one, a phenomenon that encompasses what it seems to be. of all TikTok and Instagram feeds.
But September is also National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and with some of the great designers of our time – Alexander McQueen, for example – falling victim to suicide, the fashion industry is not exempt from the conversation.
Designer Alexandra Nyman wants to lead it.
As editor-in-chief of Soberocitya platform dedicated to sober living, and its own brand designer Mrs. CatNyman is marrying her passions for both worlds—mental health and fashion—with her groundbreaking fashion show event, Break Free NYFW.
“For me, one of the most profound things is being able to be an outlet for people to share their stories and experiences and help them feel empowered,” Nyman said. out. “It’s hearing the stories of others who have gone to the other side that makes the most impact.”
On Saturday, September 10 (World Suicide Prevention Day), designers, activists, models and educators all came together on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to de-stigmatize mental health and open up a discussion on suicide prevention and substance abuse.
The showcase featured four designers, each with their own unique connection to the cause: Project track‘s Helen Castillo; mental health and body positivity activist Renee Cafaro; young designer Ashley Alt; and Brooklyn-based designer Dynasty Casanova.
“I’ve shown at New York Fashion Week, and a lot of the show experience has felt so exhausting and incredibly stimulating,” said Castillo. “I felt the opposite at Break Free, everyone, including the models and volunteers, were there to encourage each other.”
Nyman was first introduced to the importance of mental health awareness when she saw her brother struggle with it, a byproduct of growing up gay in an ultra-conservative Christian household.
Before realizing that she herself was bisexual, Nyman recalls that her priest’s solution to “gayness” was a tale as old as time: a form of “get the gays out.”
“As long as you fight those urges, the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ is still yours,” she said of her priest’s teachings. “But if you act upon them, the fiery depths of hell will, unfortunately, cast you away.”
So, as happens with many LGBTQ+ youth who discover themselves in religious settings, Nyman’s brother quickly found himself in a dark place—one that led to multiple suicide attempts.
“He felt this overwhelming sense of dread that wouldn’t go away,” Nyman shared. “And that led to his first big effort,” a tragically common resource for LGBTQ+ people who lack support. (According to Save.org, LGBTQ+ people are eight times more likely to attempt suicide if they lack support from family and friends.)
Luckily, Nyman’s brother had it.
“In our small town in Pennsylvania, there was really no service for this. That’s how I was driven to learn about mental health.”
In addition to her education, Nyman looked to fashion as a form of healing, creating a collection that would help raise funds for The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention among LGTBQ+ youth.
“It got me thinking — What if I was able to do my own showcase, using the voices of designers and models, and we were able to create a scholarship program to send individuals to a rehab center?”
Fast forward to Saturday, and her ‘what if’ became a reality with her second NYFW event, this time honoring September as National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
As an inclusive space for both fashion lovers and those affected by mental health struggles, all proceeds from the event went to the scholarship fund of the Break Free Foundation in partnership with 10,000 Beds, a non-profit organization dedicated to recovery and to assist those seeking substance abuse treatment.
Nyman’s call to action for others in the industry is simple: “Walk the talk.”
“Everyone and their mum likes to support mental health in May. And then we also see it in June, when everyone makes their Facebook profile rainbow,” Nyman said. “I’d like to see more designers, more brands really, care authentically, to really talk.”
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