At Corner Store Couture, Veronica Torres Makes Fashion Week Feel Like Home

There’s something undeniably endearing about being handed a piece of cut-up fruit on a hot summer day. Maybe it’s a bowl of mango from your mom or the familiar feeling of being told to “eat something” before you head out. Nonetheless, the gesture carries something bigger than the food itself. It’s the idea that someone thought of you and wanted you to feel cared for.

For Veronica Torres, owner of Bodega by V and producer of the Corner Store Couture runway show, that feeling has become the foundation of her New York Fashion Week experience. 

I caught up with Torres a full year after sitting down with her ahead of last year’s inaugural production, where the first-time excitement and jitters swarmed our Zoom call. This year, the enthusiasm is still abundantly clear, but the designer has a newfound confidence and groundedness. 

Moving from The Walker Loft near Canal Street to Dumbo, Brooklyn, a venue that seats 300 people, the runway show returns with a larger space and a more immersive experience, but the same community-first focus that made its first year so memorable.

“I think everyone is craving a little bit more of a space for connection, a space to celebrate art, and just a moment to really come together as a community,” she told me. 

Three Acts, One Giant Celebration

Much like last year’s show, this year’s will also unfold in three acts. The first act is your traditional runway show with a handful of designers showcasing their collection. Act II pulls back the curtain with the Fresh Off the Runway Marketplace, giving attendees the chance to shop the looks they just saw before they hit the racks.

And the final act is the ultimate afterparty. Torres has secured a lineup of DJs who will keep the celebration going until 1 A.M., alongside a roster of NYC-based vendors. The festivities will also bring back last year’s beloved “Coco, Mango, Cherry” truck, while a local coffee stand will serve drinks inspired by Latino beverages, including a coquito latte and passionfruit matcha.

“After I show a look, I always have adrenaline pumping; the worst thing to happen is just to have to go home and not know what to do with all the excitement. We really wanted to create a show where people could show their work, connect with their loved ones, and then celebrate their work,” she shared.

Where Fashion Meets Bodega

If Corner Store Couture’s concept feels distinctly New York, that’s because it is. The designer was born to Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Chinese parents, and she grew up assisting her mother in the marqueta (market). 

She weaves this history into every part of the show’s DNA. Even the event’s invitations are an extension of that story. Instead of a conventional Fashion Week invitation, select guests received fresh mangoes packaged with a QR code sticker inviting them to the event.

For the founder, the mango is a love language. She recalls her mother bringing her a freshly cut mango on a hot summer day — a simple gesture that communicated care, nourishment, and welcome without needing to say anything.

In a space that feels rigid, gatekept, and, as Torres described, “sterile,” she’s looking to change the narrative,

“I really wanted to show my love language to our audience,” she explained. “We want you to feel nourished. We want you to feel welcome. We want you to feel good.”

Bodega by V’s SS27 Line

That sentiment feels especially fitting for Torres, whose new collection, Morir Soñando, turns a childhood memory and a beloved Dominican beverage into an entire fashion world.

The Dominican phrase translates loosely to “to die while dreaming,” an appropriately dreamy title for a collection inspired by a childhood summer beverage made with orange juice, milk, and sugar.

From there, the designer developed an entire fashion world around the life cycle of fruit.

The collection begins with the hard, unripe stage: greens, structure, her staple corseted silhouettes, and form-fitting pieces. As the fruit ripens, the clothing softens. Rich reds, oranges, and yellows emerge, while silk charmeuse, fluid silhouettes, and vibrant prints bring movement into the collection.

By the end, the collection becomes something closer to a “fever dream.”

There are playful silhouettes, hand-beading, flowing fabrics, and references to 1970s performances and the disco era. Torres described her inspiration as falling asleep outside on a hot summer afternoon, waking from a vivid dream with a print from your pillow pressed onto your face, only to find your mother waiting with a bowl of freshly cut fruit.

Veronica Torres Wants You to Feel Welcome at Fashion’s Table

In many ways, Corner Store Cotoure captures what Torres is building: a fashion experience rooted in culture and community. The clothes may be the centerpiece, but the runway is only part of the story. With food, music, shopping, and celebration, she is creating a Fashion Week experience that feels less like something to observe and more like somewhere you’re invited to belong.

Because at its heart, Corner Store Couture is about the same thing as that bowl of mango: being reminded that you are welcome, you are cared for, and there is always a place for you at the table.