After turning heads with its NYFW debut in February, viral label YEAR2DATE is proving it has no interest in playing by the rules. With an unapologetically maximalist aesthetic, Y2K nostalgia, and just the right amount of sass, the brand has quickly carved out a distinct space in the fashion landscape.
Fresh off her feature in Trim and Monaleo’s “NOBODY” music video, self-taught Baltimore native Yanni Greene sat down with Advisor. after the thrill of presenting her second collection as an independent designer, Into the Storm.
T: What inspired the name of the collection, and what was your connection to the theme personally?
Y: “Into the Storm” really represented what I went through this year. The first half of the year was dark, and I tried to find the light. In the beginning of my show, you see the black and white outfits. I feel like I was going through the storm, trying to battle between both sides of me and everything that I was going through.
Once summer hit, it was like the bloom because, you know, once the storm is over, the rainbow comes. I try to focus on translating the things that happened to me. I didn’t know how to deal with a lot of things that I went through in the first half of the year, and I just thank God that He gave me a different perspective and made me see the colors again.
He made me see the beautiful things that were about to happen, and He genuinely blessed me with the strength to get this show finished. You’re going to go into the storm, but you’re gonna come out a better person. You’re gonna come out stronger.
T: Amen! Who do you create your clothes for?
Y: I genuinely feel like you could come to me as anybody, and I will create you anew. You will put a whole new outfit on. You’ll be a whole new person. If you want to come and get transformed, that’s my target audience. I’ll do you up. You’re gonna look so good.
T: What’s one thing you wish everybody knew about being a Black independent designer that they might not know?
Y: I wish everybody knew that I know we make it look easy, but it’s not easy, y’all. Give your Black women their flowers. Tell them, just randomly, that you’re so proud of them for all of the things that they do. We do so much stuff, and we just chalk it up to being normal, like, oh, it’s nothing. But no, give that Black woman her flowers. Tell her how good she’s been doing in all her work.
I just want to thank everybody who came out and supported me today. I did not get a chance to do my ugly cry, and y’all will not see it [laughs]. But the support means more than anything to me. Forget the clothes. It’s the fact that people came out. They came to my casting call, they came to my show, and they waited patiently here. That means more to me than anything. I was like, okay, I got five tickets sold, and then boom, all the tickets sold, and all of the people were here. Your support means more than anything.
Young Black designers like Yanni are reshaping what fashion week can look like beyond the traditional calendar, creating intimate, experimental spaces that reflect their own communities, aesthetics, and creative visions.
Rather than waiting for an invitation into an industry that has historically left them on the margins, they are carving out their own spaces and reclaiming fashion week on their own terms. If YEAR2DATE’s latest collection is any indication, the future of fashion week may belong to the designers bold enough to build it themselves.
Check out our collection recap on Instagram to see more of YEAR2DATE’s Into the Storm!
This story was contributed by Taya Coates, a Virginia-based fashion and culture writer whose work focuses on Black fashion and sustainability. Through our Contributor Network, Advisor. highlights perspectives and stories that contribute to the broader conversation around Black fashion.
