Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to walk the runway Wednesday at "Style Across the Aisle," a ticketed Fashion Week event that will feature more than 30 current and former elected officials, organizers and media reports said.
Mayor Eric Adams will not take part, his office said, prompting competing accounts from event organizers and the mayor’s representatives about whether he was expected to appear. A spokesman for Adams said the mayor has "a city to run, not a runway," and that Adams will be hosting town hall meetings across the five boroughs on Wednesday rather than attend the show.
Organizers of Style Across the Aisle told Page Six they had hoped Adams would show off what they described as his "swagger" and said invitations had been extended earlier in the year; another source told Page Six the mayor received notification about the event roughly 48 hours before it was set to begin. Skye Ostreicher, the event’s founder, said she was "still keeping my fingers crossed" that Adams might make a cameo.
Among those slated to walk are former Gov. David Paterson, Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias and Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola. The event is billed as an opportunity for New Yorkers to meet elected officials while previewing looks at the start of New York Fashion Week.
Cuomo, who has been campaigning for political office in the city, told guests at a private fundraiser that he has been rehearsing the runway move. "I've been practicing the runway walk in my apartment," a guest at the fundraiser told Page Six. "It's not as easy as it looks. The turn at the end of the runway coming back the other way — it's like a half pirouette — doing that gracefully while opening the jacket to show the lining."
Designer Gina Newman of Bond & Bari Bespoke said she would dress Cuomo in a bright blue suit with vintage lining featuring images of old skyscrapers and cultural figures. Newman described Cuomo as cooperative during fittings, saying he trusted her decisions.
The show benefits Witness to Mass Incarceration, whose Art of Tailoring program trains participants in fashion design and business skills. Sponsors for the ticketed event include Uber and Airbnb. Organizers said the program helped create looks for Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, Councilmember Julie Won and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
Last year’s edition of the event was held at Gracie Mansion; organizers said Adams had been scheduled to walk then but withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19. A spokesman for Adams, Todd Shapiro, told Page Six that "there is no one who more defines the word fashion in government — from his walk to his talk — than the Mayor," adding that some elected officials still wear suits "from the 1970s." Shapiro said Adams "would have loved to attend, but he has a city to run."
Event organizers and the mayor’s office offered differing timelines about the invitation and scheduling. Organizers said invitations were extended months earlier; a source cited by Page Six said notification arrived shortly before the show. Organizers continued outreach to elected officials up to the event, and Ostreicher expressed hope for additional appearances.
The Style Across the Aisle runway is scheduled to take place at the Surrogate’s Court. Proceeds and visibility from the event are intended to raise funds for and awareness of reentry and anti-incarceration work carried out by Witness to Mass Incarceration and to link civic engagement with fashion-industry training.
Representatives for Cuomo, Adams and the event did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment beyond the statements reported to Page Six.