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The Interview—Juan Delgado, Fashion Designer

Photograph by Rodrigo Cid

By Christy Knell
March 31, 2023

A couple months ago, our favorite local mixologist Colleen Cushman approached us with an interesting concept—she had a friend who was looking for a venue to host his first fashion show, and she thought HudCo might be a good fit. We’ve hosted networking events, dinner parties, shopping experiences, live music, comedy shows …  now it’s time to bring on the catwalk.

Juan Delgado, the charismatic designer behind the Delgado New York collection featured at HudCo on April 3, often collaborates with Colleen and is a familiar face to many in the Rivertowns. “I’m an outgoing person that enjoys bringing people together,” he said. “I prefer to always lead with a smile. It helps brighten up the room.” And he most certainly does—as everyone will see at the sold out show on Monday.

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So what’s the origin story here for Fashion Night Westchester? How did you and Colleen come to put together this event?

Fashion Night Westchester was the brainchild of Colleen and I over a night of cocktails—we saw a lack of fashion-oriented events locally and decided to expose the wonders Westchester has to offer. Making sure to include the amazing and talented individuals our communities have as hidden gems was essential to our vision.

Never thinking such a wild idea could possibly come into fruition, we took a risk and started reaching out to local talents, vendors, and companies that as well became intrigued with the project. This event became possible by hard work and dedication and the enormous amount of love and support from the team at HudCo, Jäegermeister, Teremana, Cushman Real Estate, family, friends, and the community.

ClinkwithColleen and Delgado New York merged together to create an event that goes beyond—we wanted to have an experience that stimulates all your senses.

First, tell me everything about designing your own line—how did you get here in your career?

I was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, into a humble, hardworking family. I learned at a very young age that nothing comes easy, you have to work hard to achieve it. I was always an artistic child that found beauty in almost everything. I was a complete mind traveler—that’s what evoked such a love for art.

Moving to the USA changed my life forever. I came to a land where your wildest dreams could be possible if you apply yourself. 

Fashion came to me as an outlet that gave me the chance to express everything within me. Delgado New York is a piece of me that I hope could inspire others to the beauty of art, culture, and music—clothing with inspiring qualities that transcend. I have had a few fashion presentations, but this one is my biggest so far, and I’m beyond grateful and blessed. Getting here wasn’t easy but surrounding myself with my amazing mentor Barbara Sessim and a wonderful production team really helped with putting my career on the right path.

What people, places, brands, experiences inspire you? What did you infuse into this collection?

Inspiration comes to me from all the beauty the world has to offer. Brands that I look up to would be Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Versace, and Schiaparelli to name a few. A lot of inspiration also comes from stories passed down to me from my mother and family members, as well as lived experiences and a huge admiration for nature, art, music and the worldly unknown.

The inspiration for this collection stems from my mother’s love of coffee. I’ve grown up with my mom always enjoying her morning and mid-afternoon cup. The aroma of her freshly brewed cup of Bustelo coffee filled up the house—it gave me a sense of comfort, love, and peace, as well showed me there is such beauty in simplicity.

In this collection I want to showcase the love, beauty and sheer elegance of that coffee experience through nostalgic tones in a warm color scheme that would bring comfort to your inner soul. It will take the Delgado human on a journey through the coffee farms in Latin America where the coffee process begins, to my mother’s kitchen, to your nearby trendy coffee shop.

These pieces are elegant, tasteful, mindfully crafted garments that would be available to all humans with a love for art and culture and want to make a statement each garment will make you feel exclusive and timeless.

There are so many great collaborators on this big night out!

Very true! We have an array of amazing different talented individuals which was an honor to work with. We have the likes of Melissa from A D’Zine (artisan, one-of-a-kind jewelry), Mary from Martimucci (modern handmade jewelry), Clink With Colleen (traveling bartending company), professional make-up artist Julia from B3 Balm (all natural skin care), Lauren and Kith from Kinwich (delicious, flavorful sandwiches), Xolo (the first plant-based Mexican food truck), Jennifer and the amazing team at HudCo, liquor sponsors Jäegermeister and Teremana, Climbing Wolf Coffee and Beer, beautiful, and talented models. All are donating time to raise funds for Feeding Westchester.

Connecting with all these wonderful individuals was just stepping out and reaching out with optimism for a great event in which the positive energy was received. Now I’m proud to say I’m part of an amazing team!

What’s next for you after the show? More shows? More collaborations? Where can people shop your line?

Next for Delgado New York will be the mission to spread my love for art, beauty, music and culture through contemporary bold, ever-changing and evolving collections… more eye-catching shows and future collaborations, as well as magazine editorial spreads. And possibly placement in Boutiques and stores around the world. Definitely stay tuned to see where I’m mind-traveling to next! 

Delgado New York will formally start its online shopping service summer 2023. Follow to see the updates on my brand’s Instagram page.