By Hector Serrano
Camera flashes, loud music, and chatter fill the air as the crowd of people gather around the runway during the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Hot Girl Market show. Designers from all over the world showcased their fashion for the upcoming Spring 2025 and Summer 2025 season in the show, which included independent designers dedicated to the mission of sustainable fashion.
Alexis “Lex” F., the creator of Hot Girl Market and a Brooklyn College student majoring in business administration, explained that the market came to be in order to support smaller artists, using her experience working in flea markets selling vintage clothes to spur the showcase. To have Hot Girl Market be alongside other designers in NYFW demonstrates to them that they are taken just as seriously as other major brands in the fashion world.
“My main mission is providing a platform for sustainable small businesses and connecting them with ‘Hot Girls’ that can support them instead of going to the mall and purchasing mass produced items,” Lex told The Vanguard. “It’s important for everything at my market to be secondhand or handmade adjacent. That way, it’s more fulfilling to purchase something rare and getting it directly from the person who made/curated it.”
Hot Girl Market mainly features women designers and vendors who celebrate “girlhood”–the unspoken feminine bond women experience as they go about life–and Lex’s personal style. Hot Girl Market celebrates femininity while rejecting patriarchy: the ideology that sees men holding more power than women. Lex’s main goal is to create a space and platform for women in the male-dominated secondhand market, allowing them to vocalize and express their creativity.
“I thought if I created a space that would attract everyone who likes the same type of stuff I do, I could sell more clothes,” Alexis told The Vanguard. “Most markets are male-dominated, catering towards true vintage and antiques. Hot Girl Market was inspired by ‘girlhood’ and my love for the 2000s era.”
The designers in the show included 815, Bodega by V, Chloe Likes Pink, Sour Cherry, Sage and Saber, Infrared, Rayne by Anijah, NOSTYLGUH, and fonkymonky. All of the designers were chosen by Lex because of their mission of sustainability by being handcrafted, which included using upcycled and ethically-sourced material.
One of such designers featured in the show was Rayne by Anijah. Rayne by Anijah features all hand knit clothing made by the designer herself.
“My budding moment was definitely watching ‘That’s So Raven’ growing up. That was my girl! [Fashion is] just a way to express yourself, have fun, and just create. Every outfit, every piece, is just a work of art,” Rayne told The Vanguard.
As Hot Girl Market grew, the market gained more vendors and sponsors. Their runway show was sponsored by Drink Lunar, Culture POP soda, Smart Water, Magnolia’s Bakery, and Maya’s Snack Bar. The Hot Girl Market runway show was fully produced by Lex alone, allowing her to see her dreams come to fruition.
To Lex, this is just the beginning of Hot Girl Market. With many more curated pieces to come, and a continued emphasis on celebrating girlhood, they hope to reach all the “Hot Girls” out there.
“I hope to host more events and expand to maybe different cities or possibly open a store,” Lex told The Vanguard. “I have endless dreams.”