First New York Fashion Week

First New York Fashion Week

Showing my first collection at New York Fashion Week is one of those experiences I'll be unpacking for a long time.

This is the story of how Janeke Luxueuse made it to the runway at Runway 7, Sony Hall, chaos, faith, and all.

A Chaotic Start to New York Fashion Week

Getting to New York was its own adventure before I'd even touched down. I got sick on the flight over, which is never how you want to start fashion week. Then, in Amsterdam, my sister, who was travelling with me and was set to be my right hand backstage, lost her passport in the airport. I had to board my connecting flight without her and continue to New York alone, not knowing when, or whether, she'd be able to follow.

She found the passport. She made the next flight. She landed that evening and was standing beside me for the show, exactly as planned, just several stressful hours later than either of us had hoped for.

Looking back, that was the first of what I can only describe as a string of small miracles that carried the whole week.

Once I was actually in New York, the show itself wasn't what occupied most of my headspace, the castings and fittings were. A beautiful collection only works if the right people are wearing it, and finding those people, under time pressure, in a city that wasn't mine, was genuinely the hardest part of the process.

I'm grateful for how it turned out: every model I chose brought her own presence to the collection, wore the pieces the way they were designed to be worn, and made the whole range feel more alive than it did on the rack.

Finding My Final Model: A New York Fashion Week Story I Still Think About

Months before the show, a model named Hailey Hough messaged me asking whether she could walk for me. I told her I'd keep her in mind if a spot opened up. By the time fittings rolled around, I still needed one more model and things were moving fast.

In the middle of that chaos, I noticed a girl sitting on the floor. I had no idea who she was. I walked over anyway and asked if she'd try on one of my looks. We clicked instantly. Once she had the outfit on, I asked her name.

"Hailey," she said.

"Hailey Hough?" I asked, before she'd even confirmed it.

Her name had been sitting in the back of my mind that whole time, and there she was.

It's a small moment on paper, but it was one of several during that week that made me stop and think: okay, thank You, God. A million little details lining up exactly when I needed them to.

Show Day at Runway 7

On the morning of the show, my sister met me at the hotel and we took an Uber to Sony Hall with every piece of the collection packed into our luggage. Runway 7 gave us a proper backstage setup to steam and prep the garments, and our friend Omari was there helping us get everything show-ready, an extra pair of hands I was genuinely grateful for. Thank you to Hajra and Omari.

What struck me most was how well the whole day was run. I had four designer assistants with me from start to finish, guiding me between backstage, hair and makeup, the red carpet, interviews, and back again. I never had to wonder where I needed to be or who I needed to speak to next, someone simply appeared and said, "you're going here now," and I followed.

When hair and makeup began, I sat down in the director's chair and let the team take over completely, and whenever I looked even slightly unsure, someone would check in without me having to ask.

I kept telling myself, this is just another fashion show, next year, Milan. And still, underneath that, I knew exactly how significant the moment actually was. There was a real, settled peace over the whole day that I don't take for granted.

Watching the Collection Walk the Runway

I watched most of the show from backstage on a monitor, catching glimpses of the runway and the crowd beyond it. As each look went out, I could see phones lifting to film it. My first thought, every time: they like it.

I wasn't especially nervous about whether the collection would land with everyone in that room, my design point of view is specific on purpose, and the people who connect with it tend to connect with it strongly. Still, watching a room respond to something I made, in real time, was its own kind of special.

Afterward, the backstage area filled with designers, guests, and people I'd never met, all coming over to talk about the collection. One comment has stayed with me since: a woman who later bought my polka-dot skirt told me, "I know it's just polka dots, but it's so elegant and timeless."

That's precisely the feeling I want Janeke Luxueuse to carry, timeless elegance with a little nostalgia woven through it, so hearing it back from someone who wasn't in my head while I designed it was incredible to hear.

Walking the Runway Myself

The designer walk was the one moment nerves actually caught up with me. I'd never walked that particular runway before, and there's no practice run for it, you just go. I couldn't feel my legs. In a good way, if that makes sense.

Looking out at the audience, at the collection out there on the models in front of me, all I could really think was: thank You, Jesus. I didn't expect to be here this soon, but thank You. That thought ran through my head most of the day.

The People Behind the Day

If I'm honest, the thing I remember doing most that day is saying thank you. Thank you to God, first. Thank you to my sister, for being beside me as my assistant and for handling the logistics I couldn't hold in my own head that day. Thank you to my boyfriend, for being there and supporting the whole process. Thank you to Hajra and Omari, for backstage help that made everything run smoother. And thank you to everyone cheering us on from South Africa and beyond, that support crossed a lot of time zones to reach us, and it mattered.

It was also a meaningful day for the women in our studio who help bring every Janeke Luxueuse garment to life. Seeing a collection they'd worked on walk a New York runway wasn't just a milestone for me, it was one for everyone who had a hand in making it real.

Explore the runway story and collection

Learn more about Runway 7 Fashion, the New York Fashion Week platform where the collection was shown at Sony Hall.

Shop the Elsa Polka Dot Pencil Skirt—the piece mentioned in this story—as well as The Polka Dot Set and the Ingrid gown. Discover more through the Couture Collection, Dresses, Skirts and Evening Out collections.