Style Across the Aisle: Show History and Past Venues

Where the Show Began

Style Across the Aisle was founded in 2024 by New York civic and media leader Skye Ostreicher as a single runway presentation with an unusual casting rule: the people walking the runway would be public officials, and the looks they wore would come from independent designers working in the same districts, boroughs, and neighborhoods they represent. That first edition set the template the show still follows today, an evening built around local creative talent rather than imported spectacle.

The idea behind the format is a straightforward one. Fashion draws an audience that civic life rarely reaches, and public service rarely gets a stage this warm. By putting both on the same runway, the event gives emerging labels a level of visibility that independent designers seldom have access to, and gives elected leaders an evening with their constituents that is celebratory rather than formal.

Historic New York Venues

Past editions have been staged in historic civic landmarks rather than conventional fashion venues. Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the Mayor of New York City, has hosted the show, as has Manhattan's Surrogate's Court, a landmark civic building in Lower Manhattan. Both settings reinforce the event's premise that the city's public institutions can double as stages for its creative community.

The show is staged annually during New York Fashion Week. The 2026 edition will take place on September 9, 2026 at The Met Opera in New York City, moving the event into one of the city's most recognizable cultural institutions. Each production also spotlights nonprofit partners whose work reflects the event's mission of community, opportunity, and civic connection.

Who Takes Part Each Year

Every edition brings together four groups: independent designers selected from the communities represented on the runway, public officials who model their work, nonprofit partners aligned with the event's mission, and sponsors, press, and guests who fill the room. Because the show is bipartisan by design, participants come from across the political spectrum, and every walk down the runway represents a working relationship between a neighborhood and the creative talent inside it.