hesta

NYFW FW’24

Hester Sunshine, an innovative Queer Jewish apparel creator, has made a significant impact in the industry.

With notable experiences at renowned brands like Betsey Johnson and Kate Spade, Hester secured the runner-up position in Season 17 of Project Runway with the Y20k0 collection.

Leading HESTA, a gender-nonconforming ready-to-wear (RTW) and couture line, Hester envisions a future fashion landscape focused on inclusivity and innovation.

HESTA is dedicated to crafting ethically produced, beautiful garments for all body types, challenging the exclusivity often associated with high fashion. Embracing diversity, the brand tailors designs for real people with real bodies, including curves, trans bodies, and various shapes and sizes.

As an anti-establishment, pro-customer brand, HESTA seeks to revolutionize the fashion narrative, encouraging individuals not just to wear clothes but to celebrate their unique forms. Serving as a safe space for self-expression and empowerment, HESTA bridges the gap between fashion and real-life functionality.

Hesta's creations have adorned luminaries such as Rebecca Black, Rify Royalty, Kat Cunning, Landry Bender, Sudan Archives, and Bishme Cromartie. Featured in publications like NYLON Magazine, Image Magazine, Moevir, among others, Hester has also collaborated with the immersive art collective Meow Wolf, known for blending fantasy, science fiction, and surrealism in interactive art experiences.

“disruption” presentation

The runway presentation by Hester Sunshine was a celebration of queer culture as a rebellious and joyous disruption of the heteronormative status quo. As the show opens, cyberpunk movie footage plays, representing the ever-changing modern ‘future’ we find ourselves in. A distorted voice announces a takeover by HESTA. The lights come up on a pop-up dance party. Drag performers invite us into the fun, glamorous world of HESTA. Models walk the runway and then dance together on stage, creating an irreverent, insouciant atmosphere. Suspended over the crowd in a cage, a performer transforms from one surreal body tee to another. After the last model leaps ecstatically down the runway, the broadcast ‘shuts down’ as the party melts into the darkness, disruption completed.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ABIGAIL TULENKO

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