For A Post-Fashion-Week Fix, Head To The DUMBO Arts Festival

NYFW has come and gone, leaving behind its usual sparkling trail of must-try trends, street-style inspiration, and empty water bottles. Our sartorial buzz has far from worn off, especially now that we’ve caught up on sleep (kind of). While the high fashion continues overseas, we’re all about staying local and getting back to our off-beat, indie art, and fashion roots.

The DUMBO Arts Festival is just the kind of three-day, weekend extravaganza we need to keep our fashion delirium buzzing. With events like not-from-your-nana's-attic dress-up (three-legged pants, anyone?), an art installation where a disco ball freely floats in the East River, a sustainable pop-up shop c/o Modavanti, and many live performances, it's the just kind of positive sensory overload we thrive on. Did we mention it’s free?

Sparing no block in the ‘hood, the festival makes use of every corner, from galleries to the waterfront to even the loading docks. A few events grabbed our immediate attention, like how Ian Addison Hall’s textiles compare the patterns we find in fashion with genetic patterns found in our DNA.

And, if you ever wondered whether or not models make comfortable furniture, you’ll soon have an answer. The project Styrene Lounge has taken old bean bags and transformed them into outrageous costumes-turned-wearable pillows, and festivalgoers are even encouraged to kick up their feet and relax on the costumes models. Avant-garde, cruel, or just the newest craze in upcycling? We’ll just have to see for ourselves.

When: Friday, September 28, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, September 29, from noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, September 30, from noon to 6 p.m.