Here's a look back at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2004 show, which took place on September 14, 2003, in Bryant Park, New York. Maurice Malone, an African American designer from Detroit, Michigan, who moved to Brooklyn in 1995, was well-known for his edgy urban hip-hop streetwear in the early 1990s. He was the first hip-hop designer to enter the designer collection market, producing shows during New York Fashion Week which featured tailored menswear and womenswear designer styles from 1996 to 1999.
In his first year of producing runway shows, he was nominated for the prestigious Perry Ellis New Menswear Designer Of The Year Award by The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), marking yet another milestone for hip-hop designers on the path to being taken seriously in the world of designer fashion. In this video, he returns to New York Fashion Week after a four-year absence, collaborating with his eyewear licensee Moja to present this men's and women's Spring 2004 runway show.