By DAVID CRUZ

Bronx Fashion Week is entering its second year as a burgeoning outlet for chic designers and runway models with its signature event slated for September. 

At the Mall at Bay Plaza in Co-Op City organizers will transform a portion of the indoor mall into a showcase fashion theater with photographers, buyers and fashionistas expected to flank the runway. The show will also be complemented with a food and wine festival co-organized by the Food Bank for New York. Proceeds will go towards that nonprofit.

Highlighting edgy styles to a Bronx audience was a kind of leap of faith for Flora Montes, Bronx Fashion Week’s owner and CEO. Though it wasn’t completely clear whether she could pull this off, she did notice fashion venues were “something that was missing” in the borough, marking an activity that’s new to the Bronx.

“Bronx Fashion Week is so many things, but I think the most thing that I’m really proud of is t it’s showcasing all the beautiful things in the Bronx,” said Montes, hoping to shake off outside perceptions of the Bronx. “We’re so much more, really, in the borough.”

In between shows (she had one event take place May 9th), designers set the tone in crafting seasonal outfits that are later brought to life by professional dressmakers. Montes regularly photographs fashion models at several different Bronx locations. The last locale was at the newly renovated High Bridge. Other sites included the renovated Bronx County Courthouse, Millbrook Houses and the Bronx Zoo, blending some borough haunts with high fashion.

It’s certainly been a long, but fruitful two years for Montes, who was inspired to start Bronx Fashion Week after attending Latin Fashion Week. Montes fawned over the presentation, recalling how she “fell in love.”

“The minute that I walked out of that event, that was on a Saturday,” said Montes. “On that Sunday, I was making phone calls.”

The show’s initial drew a crowd, and some buzz. It piqued interest from other fashion designers, some of them Bronx-bred, which include Miroslava from Aval & Co., Edward Ortiz (makers of Flee God), and Anita Rivers of Classic Royalty. They all inquired how they can part in any upcoming shows. She described the outpouring as “surreal.” This year, Montes assures the show will “make history and be mind-boggling.”

Editor’s Note: Bronx Fashion Week is scheduled for Thursday, September 17 from 4 to 9 p.m. at The Mall at Bay Plaza. Tickets cost $45 for general admission. Tickets for the fashion show and charity event with Food Bank for New York City.