New York’s Staten Island. Alexandra Nyman is utilizing fashion as a potent instrument for change in a society where addiction and mental health issues are frequently stigmatized.
As the creator of the Break Free Foundation, Nyman has devoted her professional life to dismantling obstacles, promoting rehabilitation, and establishing a community of support for people dealing with mental health issues and substance use disorders.
For about six years, I ran a sober blog, and one of the most common requests I received was from people who needed help getting into recovery but couldn’t afford to go, Nyman said. It was terribly discouraging to tell someone who wanted to start treatment, “Oh, sorry, this really sucks, but since you don’t have money… guess you can’t enter into recovery.” I searched but couldn’t discover anything. I wish you luck.
Nyman seized the opportunity in 2022 to establish what she perceived as a deficiency: scholarships for those pursuing recovery from drug use problems.
Alexandra Nyman is the creator of the Break Free Foundation. (Image Source: Alexandra Nyman.)Nyman, Alexandra
A nonprofit organization called the Break Free Foundation works to support and educate people and families going through rehabilitation. It provides a scholarship program that enables underserved and underprivileged people to access care for little or no cost.
We are all healing from something, according to the foundation. Break Free acknowledges that everyone deserves the chance to succeed, regardless of their circumstances, including substance abuse, disordered eating, gambling addiction, self-harm, or having survived a suicide attempt.
Nyman had established herself in the entertainment and fashion worlds prior to starting the Break Free Foundation.
She began her career in film production as a fashion designer, dressed celebrities including Lady Gaga, Pink, and Nikki and Gabi DeMartino. She was born and reared in the Pocono Mountains and currently resides on Staten Island.
She combined her passion for fashion and storytelling by designing costumes for actors like Eric Roberts, Mischa Barton, and Brian Anthony Williams.
Nyman established LadyCat, a fashion design brand, in 2019 with the goal of raising awareness of co-occurring disorders, substance abuse, and mental health issues.
“The journey of someone close to me and my life is the focus of every collection I work on,” Nyman remarked. My younger brother’s life served as the focal point of my first two collections. He received the necessary treatment and was diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder.
Her ambition to combine fashion and advocacy began with her debut collection, Therapy. Four acts, which stand in for the feelings before and after therapy, are captured in the collection.
Recovery on the Runway, an annual event that combines fashion and advocacy during New York Fashion Week, is one of Break Free’s most effective programs.
The event provides a platform for people in recovery to share their stories via self-expression and flair.
Nyman stated, “The event helps us spread education on harm reduction measures and further our mission for stigma reduction.” It’s a means of assisting people in being rehabilitated and rehumanized into a society that has finally abandoned them, something that occurs on a daily basis in Staten Island but that we don’t discuss or act as though doesn’t exist.
Every show offers a chance to normalize discussions about mental health, recovery, and body acceptance in the fashion industry while also celebrating perseverance, redefining beauty, and raising awareness of mental health issues.
This year’s Recovery on the Runway is open to the public and will take place on Saturday, February 8 at the Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South.
Fashion industry creatives and like-minded people in recovery will have a sober night out with Dirty Virgin mocktails and be in the familiar fashion setting, but with a sober twist.
Among the fashion designers exhibiting are Chablis Designs, Sky Eagle Collection, and Rehab.
The fashion display will start at 7 p.m., and the event will run from 6 to 9 p.m.
You may get tickets here.
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