Column: Young Aurora woman hopes to bring style and community together with runway show in city's downtown

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

She's only 22 years old and barely a year out of Columbia College, but Breyona Smith is about to bring a different kind of style to her hometown.
The young woman – a graduate of West Aurora High School – is producing what could be the city's first runway show that she describes as a 'celebration of Aurora's vibrant identity through the lens of fashion, art and culture.'
'The Fashion Mosaic' will not only feature local models, businesses and designers, it will include community interactive art performances, a pre-event VIP Hour filled with art and food experiences, music by a live DJ, contributions from the Aurora Historical Society and culinary creations by Matrix's Chef Alonso Beckford.
And this unique event, to be held July 12 at Society 57 in downtown Aurora, all came about because a major beauty company did not offer an internship position to Smith after she won first place nationally in a 'new product/new concept' global competition, she said.
She and two other fashion students from Columbia had teamed up to reinvent a hair comb to protect textured hair in L'Oreal's 'Brandstorm' contest, which earned this U.S. championship team what Smith described as a 'transformative' trip to London and second place in the international competition.
'I thought I'd have a job after graduation in New York,' she said. 'But it never materialized.'
Disappointed but undeterred, Smith applied for full-time jobs in the fashion industry and did some freelancing – including a gig assisting creative director and producer Ayoka Lucas in a Chance the Rapper magazine photo shoot – before deciding to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit that ran in her family.
Walking around the city's downtown one day last November, she realized that while Aurora has a 'thriving arts and culture vibe, it does not have much of a fashion scene' despite 'so many cute boutiques and shops.' So Smith thought, why not put together a fashion show – like Chicago and downtown Naperville – 'only let's put a twist on it,' she told me. 'Let's not only celebrate fashion but all artists, all creatives.'
And so, after plenty of creative thought of her own – and a 14-page business plan – Smith began soliciting guidance from mentor Angelina Perino, mother Trina Maxwell and mom's best friend (and event planner) Shamone Seay.
Then Smith began cold-calling groups and businesses, where she found plenty of enthusiasm from those buying into this young woman's vision and passion for fashion, the latter of which was learned at the knee of her late great-grandmother Bernice, who never stepped out of the house without being fully glammed-up and accessorized.
Smith also assembled a team of advisors, held a local model call and put together a 'pitch deck' that would succinctly explain her idea to potential sponsors.
Perino, founder of the Chicago production agency COVE, who's mentored Smith since the start of the year, noted how she's been 'consistently impressed' with the young Aurora woman's 'rare combination of drive, boldness, creativity and purpose.
'When she first shared her idea for a one-of-a-kind event that would bring fashion, art and community together in Aurora, it was just a seed,' said Perino. 'In a matter of months, (Breyona) transformed that seed into something beautiful and real.'
And this event, she insisted, 'is just the beginning for her.'
Watching from the front row, mom Trina Maxwell, who owns a birthing doula business, is proud of how her daughter took a major disappointment and turned it into something not only positive but unique and inclusive.
She's not surprised, however.
From the time she was a little girl, Breyona was tenacious, creative and a hard worker, Maxwell noted. And she 'always paid attention to details,' which included not only learning about fashion from the great-grandmother who helped raise her, but also about cooking, baking, sewing, even manners and etiquette.
And yes, added Maxwell, her daughter always possessed that entrepreneurial spirit, evident early on by the bakery business she started at age 10 with best friend Nadia Brown, who will be emceeing the upcoming fashion event.
Working two part-time jobs in style and merchandising at Nordstroms and Winston Retail, Smith has poured every spare amount of time and energy into this runway show, which will feature fashions from Clotheshorse, Wyckwood House, Undisputed Vintage, Offbeat Thrift and Vintage Collective, DDC Wraps, Slitz by HER, Tailored Couturier – all Aurora-based – and Christos Fur & Leathers from Westchester.
Tickets – $75 for VIP, $35 for general admission – are available at www.thefashmosaic.com.
Smith told me she does not expect to make any money from this first-ever venture, and in fact, is already looking into ways to turn The Fashion Mosaic into a nonprofit. But certainly the networking and other experiences she's gleaned are invaluable and help pave the way for more such events.
'A big part of what inspired me to create The Fashion Mosaic comes from putting myself out there and being in rooms with young innovators from all over the world,' Smith insisted. 'Even within my college experience, just collaborating and building a team to create something meaningful showed me how special these kinds of moments are.
'Community is community. And the arts really are the glue that holds us all together, especially in times like this.'