Inside Peak Lapel’s NYFW Debut: A Student-Run Show That’s Already in Season
Exclusively published in Local Wolves Issue 70
Read here or purchase a print copy
Peak Lapel at NYFW Men’s Day Presentation for NYFW FW25, photo by @emilytrinh.photoIn conversation with co-founder Ben Stedman on building a brand, breaking into fashion week, and what comes next.
Soft, amber lighting spills over patterned rugs, casting long shadows beneath the models’ feet. A jazz band plays—not as a timed runway soundtrack, but as a warm undercurrent, an invitation to linger. The models don’t march down a catwalk; instead, they inhabit the space like it’s their own. Some play chess, others thumb through well-worn books, their movements unhurried, effortless—an extension of the collection itself.
Unlike the rigid formality of a traditional runway show, this New York Fashion Week Men’s Day presentation dissolves the usual barriers between audience and spectacle. The set feels lived-in, intimate—more memory than performance. It moves with a different kind of energy: warm, slow, deliberate. The space isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a world built with intention, inviting participation rather than passive viewing.
Spreads from Local Wolves Issue 70 Print“This New York Fashion Week Men’s Day presentation dissolves the usual barriers between audience and spectacle. ”
But what makes this show remarkable isn’t just its place on the official NYFW CFDA calendar—it’s that every detail, from the meticulously curated set to the precision of the production, was brought to life by a team of undergraduate students. Without fashion house backing or pre-existing industry connections, they built something that didn’t just belong on this stage—it thrived in it.
At the centre of it all is Ben Stedman, co-founder and director of PEAK LAPEL, the brand making its official NYFW debut. I met him a few days before the show at my local Joe & The Juice, the kind of place where Parsons students refuel on caffeine and optimism before deadlines consume them. I’ve known Ben for a while, and I’ve always been struck by his ability to articulate a vision and execute it flawlessly. Some people have great ideas. Others know how to make things happen. Ben is one of those rare few who can do both.
Ben never set out to be a fashion show producer. His background is in business strategy, not design, but his ability to translate vision into execution is what made this show possible.
Peak Lapel’s NYFW SS25 Show Hosted at Georgia Room, Photos by me, graphics by Ben Stedman“We’re in a really rare environment where something like this can actually happen”
The people around us aren’t just classmates—they’re designers, filmmakers, musicians. That kind of access lets us build things beyond just school projects.”
This show wasn’t just about fashion—it was a collaborative ecosystem, pulling together college students with creative disciplines from across New York City:
Parsons designers like Jack Milkes and Brenna Gentner of Peak Lapel, whose collection headlined the show.
Mannes School of Music, providing a live jazz band that transformed the atmosphere.
NYU’s film school, capturing the process and ensuring the presentation lived beyond the night.
THE PEAK LAPEL QUARTET made up of (L-R): Levi Rodriguez, Joseph Mintz, Ben Halle, Seth Sandoval
Left: photo by me, Right: photo by Dasha SemyonovA Instead of waiting for the industry to hand them a platform, they built their own, pulling together the right talent to make it happen. Scaling up from a self-produced student show to NYFW means operating at a different level. The first time around, everything was adrenaline-fuelled chaos. “Doors were opening, and not everything was ready yet,” Ben laughs. This time? Different story.
Now, they weren’t just organising a show. They were launching Peak Lapel as a brand. Everything had to shift: the production, the storytelling, the way they positioned themselves within the industry. This wasn’t just a showcase anymore; it was an introduction. A statement. “The first show felt like our alpha version,” Ben says. “This time, we thought we’d get to do our beta version, learn from our previous mistakes, and make things easier. But once we got into Men’s Day, it was like—nope, this is a different level, we have to present this as a final production.”
And that meant learning—fast.
Left: Ben Stedman and Jack Milkes (Founders of Peak Lapel), Photo by Zane Gan
Right: Jack Milkes and Brenna Gentner (Designers for NYFW FW25 Collection), Photo by @emilytrinh.photo“The first time, everything was instinct-driven, fast, chaotic. This time, everything had to be sharper, more intentional.”
Content was the first priority. At SS25, they had assumed documentation would happen naturally, that photographers and guests would capture what mattered. But hoping for coverage wasn’t enough. This time, they planned everything—assigned deliverables, locked in photographers, ensured the show would be documented exactly how they needed it to be.
“If you didn’t get a good video of it, it never happened,” Ben says. A fashion show isn’t just about the people in the room—it’s about how it lives afterward, how it’s seen by the industry, by those who weren’t there but will decide whether it belongs.
Then there was the team. Scaling up meant trusting people he had never worked with before. The production crew wasn’t a long-established, tightly run operation—it was a patchwork team, assembled on the go, stitched together by mutual connections and last-minute decisions. “You can’t always rely on people you don’t know,” Ben says. “But at some point, you have to trust them anyway.” The key was setting clear expectations from the start—making sure everyone understood the vision, the stakes, and their role in bringing it to life.
Finally, what happens after the show matters just as much as the show itself. The first time, once the last model stepped off, it felt like they were done. But in reality, that was just the beginning. This time, they had a strategy beyond the runway—post-show content, press planning, asset deadlines, a rollout that made sure the collection didn’t just exist for one night but continued to shape the conversation afterward.
peak lapel cast and crew at the end of FW25 fashion week presentation“At the end of the day, I just try to think: what am I actually in control of?”
Ben says with clarity.
At the core of it all is Peak Lapel’s design philosophy—rooted in storytelling, built to last. Their FW25 collection, Memories of a Winter Holiday, isn’t about trends, but about nostalgia, sentimentality, and home.
“Jack and Brenna were literally building this brand while back home for the holidays, sewing all their looks in their bedrooms,” Ben tells me. “It only made sense to pull from that.”
The casting reinforced that ethos—models of different identities, heights, and ages took their place within the set, dissolving the industry’s usual constraints. One of them was even Jack’s dad, a full-circle moment that underscored the brand’s belief that fashion should feel personal, lived-in, and real.
Peak Lapel also looks beyond inclusivity, thinking about future-proofing fashion. Ben has taken advice from his Parsons professor, Tim Stock, known for trend analysis and cultural forecasting, to shape a long-term vision for the brand.
“We’re not just thinking about what’s happening right now, we’re trying to look at this project in a way that makes sense five, ten years down the line.”
This extends to materials, too—only natural fabrics, no synthetic blends, ensuring that the brand’s foundation is built on sustainability rather than fleeting trend cycles.
The fashion industry moves fast—always onto the next name, the next trend, the next spectacle. But Peak Lapel isn’t chasing momentum; it’s building something that lasts. The brand isn’t just about aesthetic innovation but structural change: rethinking representation, designing with longevity, and shaping a future where independent brands can stand on their own terms.
Press for Peak Lapel at NYFW FW25 Men’s Day, Ft. Forbes, WWD, CR Fashion Book“Peak Lapel isn’t chasing momentum; it’s building something that lasts.”
Yet for all its vision, Peak Lapel is still at the beginning. This was the brand’s first real introduction to the industry, but it won’t be its last. Where it goes next—how it grows, how it defines itself beyond this moment—is an open question. But if the past few months have proven anything, it’s that Ben and his team don’t wait for permission to make things happen.
I glance at my phone—4PM. We had to rush off to class. The contrast is almost absurd: one moment discussing a show that had taken months to plan, the next grabbing our bags, blending back into the everyday churn of being a student in New York City.
For now, Peak Lapel exists in this in-between space, a brand in its infancy, a vision still taking shape, finding its fit in the fast-moving fashion industry. But if I had to make a trend forecast? Consider it already tailored for success.
Full Spreads in Local Wolves Issue 70 Visionary Page 72-77, Layout by Yoolim MoonSpecial Thanks to…
Ben Stedman: Founder of Peak Lapel
Catherine Khom: Editor in Chief of Local Wolves
Yoolim Moon: Local Wolves Graphic Designer
