Two Bermudian designers have hit the Big Apple to shows off their styles this weekend as part of New York Fashion Week.

Charda Simons and Rochelle Minors will display their designs at shows tomorrow.

Ms Simons’s Street Lux brand will be displayed in a runway show as part of the Emerging Artists showcase at 10am.

Ms Minors’s Rochelle Nicole designs will be shown in the Pret-A-Porter showcase at 4pm.

Ms Simons said she was “blessed and grateful” to be part of the world-class fashion event.

She added: “It is still so unreal to me.”

Ms Simons said that fittings for her clothing held earlier this week had gone well, and that both her “nerves and excitement” were building ahead of her show.

She explained: “This is a big deal, this is really happening.

“I’m looking forward to showing the world the start of Street Lux.”

Ms Minors said she was also excited ahead of the big day.

She added: “Nervousness is inevitable when it comes to an opportunity of this importance.”

Ms Minors said that she was looking forward to the feedback and reaction to her designs from show attendees.

She said that her fashion journey had begun when she travelled to New York in March to purchase fabric.

Ms Minors added: “I never expected I would be back here for Fashion Week.”

The women won the chance to present their styles at NYFW after claiming awards at the Bermuda Fashion Festival in July.

Both took part in a four-month mentorship programme with international designers as part of the local event.

Ms Minors was mentored by Viktor Luna, while Ms Simons was mentored by Lisa Nicole Cloud.

Danilee Trott, executive producer of the Bermuda Fashion Festival, said that both designers were “well deserving” of the opportunity.

She added: “To show their brands on an international stage, especially one as glamorous and as famous as New York Fashion Week, is the icing on the cake. It’s the stuff of dreams.

“They’ve travelled a long and tedious journey, often with a lot of epic fails and tears to get to this point.

“Personally, I feel like a proud mom watching them be the stars of their own show.”

Ms Trott said she hoped the success of Ms Simons and Mr Minors would inspire local designers to take part in next year’s Bermuda Fashion Festival.

•For more information about the Bermuda Fashion Festival visit www.bermudafashionfestival.com.