Dix Hills designer Evan Hirsch finds NYFW inspiration in his childhood home

When his parents put his childhood home in Dix Hills on the market in June, Evan Hirsch decided to turn his passion for design into a tribute to the house he grew up in. That tribute comes to life in a 20-piece collection of evening wear coming to the runway this month during his New York Fashion Week solo show debut. 

"When my parents made the difficult decision to sell our house and split their time between Long Island and Florida, I was a bit upset," Hirsch says. The home sold in August. "It was then that I decided I would channel my feelings into my creativity, gathering up fabrics from curtains, chairs and tablecloths to turn them into Fashion Week-ready designs."

Hirsch, 27, of Dix Hills, is a rising fashion designer who's made a name for himself using social media. Currently, Hirsch has more than 178,000 followers on Instagram and 550,000 on TikTok. He is best known on the platforms for his transforming dress designs, which have been worn by TV host and journalist Tamron Hall and actor Mychal-Bella Bowman. In 2019, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fashion-apparel design from Drexel University in Philadelphia. 

Hirsch first became interested in fashion during his sophomore year of high school at Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills. "For many years before then, I was convinced I would be the next Broadway star, despite the fact of having no actual singing or dancing abilities," he recalls. "When I saw a classmate walk in wearing the most stunning — and sometimes avant-garde — vintage clothes, I immediately became intrigued."

Hirsch enrolled in fashion illustration classes at his high school and also began watching fashion show videos online. During his senior year, Hirsch won "Best Dressed." He continued his fashion education at Drexel, starting in the merchandising program before switching to the fashion design curriculum after his first year.

"Evan's flair for theatrics was not only evident in the designs he created, but also in how he presented his work," recalls Cynthia Golembuski, 57, associate program director of the fashion design program at Drexel. "Evan’s designs consistently made a bold impact, whether through his daring color choices, the dynamic movement of his garments, or his use of exaggerated silhouettes." Golembuski recalls a standout piece he designed at school: a "dark, moody mini dress," she says, which transformed into a white strapless gown as the model released the shoulder straps. 

He made his mark with "truly convertible looks," echoes Lisa Hayes, associate professor of fashion design at the university, "designed to appear on the runway one way, and completely transform into another look on the model." 

During college, he interned for fashion designer Badgley Mischka and, following graduation, held a technical design role for a childrenswear company.

When the pandemic hit, a friend's younger sister suggested he post videos on TikTok. "When I replied that I could not dance or lip-sync, she had informed me that I should post videos of my fashion designs." He started off by posting a video of the black-dress-turned-white-gown he'd presented during his senior year at Drexel. It took off, with nearly 5 million views. 

"Since then, I’ve used TikTok to show off my latest designs and document the process of creating them," he says. Through TikTok, Hirsch has built an audience for his upcoming shows at New York Fashion Week and garnered features in publications such as Vogue Business. Hirsch credits social media with helping to launch his presence in the fashion scene and connect him with notable clients. 

Hirsch, who got his first foray into New York Fashion Week while working as a fashion correspondent for the digital talk show series "The Donna Drake Show," says the experience inspired him to work toward seeing his own designs on the runway.

Soon after, he says he decided "Why can’t it be?" and partnered with a modeling agency — The Model Knowledge Group founded by Shaina Renee. His work was shown on the runway in 2022 alongside the work of other designers. 

On Sept. 7, Hirsch will debut with his own collection at the Starchild Rooftop on 48th Street near Times Square in a presentation show, during which models will wear his Dix Hills home-inspired collection as the audience moves through the room to view them. On Sept. 8, he'll present a runway format show in partnership with The Model Knowledge Group, with which he still works. 

And while his former professors recall his work as a student as being bold, Hirsch is holding onto that nostalgic sentiment in his upcoming line. 

"The fabrics for my collection are coming straight off the windows, walls from my childhood home," he says. "These are all fabrics that I have grown up with for 27 years and have played a significant part in my upbringing and I am so fortunate that I was able to take them with me before we left our house. My mom had a very distinct country suburban-esque style when decorating our house and those fabrics will be translated into high fashion."

And when it came to repurposing their upholstery, Hirsch's parents don't seem to mind. "He wanted to do something special to honor those memories," says his father, Ronald Hirsch, 69. "What better way than making a creative design that incorporated those feelings from fabric in the house?"