By Mona Mahadevan
The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop rolled out a catwalk for three local designers — for a fashion show that included streetwear pieces ranging from hand-painted purses and furry boots to distressed tank tops and screen-printed t-shirts.
More than 20 people sat in front of skateboards and bike parts on Friday evening to watch models strut down the shop floor at 845 Chapel St. in clothing designed by RNS, Threads by Tea, and Open Mnds.
The RNS Fashion Show opened with Nigel Lowndes, an RNS co-owner, pedaling down the runway on a vintage red bike.
The co-owners of RNS — Lowndes, 20, and William Higgins, 22 — coordinated Friday’s show.
Their partnership began during a photography class at Gateway Community College, Lowndes told the Independent.
A few months after meeting, they decided to hold a tag sale of thrifted items. They invested the proceeds into another thrifting event. As their sales continued to grow, “William said, ‘Let’s start making clothes,'” said Lowndes.
A year and a half since founding RNS, Lowndes and Higgins still make all of the pieces by hand. Their goal is to make clothing that looks “casually fly,” said Lowndes, like the brand Polo Ralph Lauren. “I want people to step outside in our pieces and be seen as professional.”
In early 2026, Lowndes and Higgins approached Greg Ledovsky and John Brehon, the owners of the Devil’s Gear, about hosting a fashion show. Ledovsky and Brehon readily agreed. “I love talking to young people who have energy and ideas that they’re trying to see through,” said Ledovsky.
The duo had to work around the constraints of the store. With a black curtain, they transformed the repair bay into a dressing room. They moved bikes to the basement and used the shop’s fixed desk to create two separate runways. They transported chairs in a U-Haul and set up an outdoor display where the models could strike a pose.
RNS bookended the show with thrifted items and handmade streetwear.
The design of a tattooed man in front of a bike, drawn by Higgins, is meant to represent Lowndes, he said.
They styled a thrifted Monaco racing jacket to lean into the streetwear aesthetic, pairing it with square sunglasses and raw-hemmed shorts.
Threads by Tea, owned by Tea Montgomery, followed.
Montgomery (pictured) has been in business for around eight years. For him, the goal is to create “wearable art” that makes people feel like “the best and highest versions of themselves.”
He started making his own clothing around eight years ago. As more strangers complimented his pieces, he began offering to make and sell similar items to them.
Over the last few years, he said, “The fun part has been discovering what the brand is while I’m in it.” He added, “The journey is the destination.”
On Friday, Montgomery presented items that could be worn casually or formally. “You could wear it to the grocery store, switch the shoes, and wear it out,” he said.
Montgomery likes to play with “patterns, colors, and shapes,” putting them together in his own unique way.
This teal vest-and-pants combo shows how Tea attempts to blend formal and streetwear together.
Montgomery said that Threads by Tea can be found in London, Paris, and New York City, in addition to New Haven; his dream for the brand is to expand further internationally.
“This is just a little something that’s in my mind,” said Terence Okwuosa, the owner of Open Mnds, just before presenting his designs. Okwuosa, an Atlanta native, moved to Connecticut three years ago and attends Gateway Community College. His designs are intended to break stigmas around mental health, especially around young people, he said.
Okwuosa girlfriend, Krystal Christmas, described his designs as “really telling a story.” They “could be a little political,” which not everyone likes, she said. Each piece is “very expressive.
Christmas was the first model to strut down the runway in Okwuosa’s designs. Her whole outfit was stamped with abstract, brain-like art.
Okwuosa’s F**K ICE shirts received a handful of whoops.
The graffiti-like image of a man and his brain is featured on many of Okwuosa’s pieces.
Befitting the venue, the show ended just the way it started: Lowndes rolling down the makeshift runway with a Devil’s Gear bike.
