So Like You Owns the Room With The B.O.S.S. at Runway 7

Some collections ask you to become someone else. So Like You asks for the opposite. At Runway 7’s New York Fashion Week showcase at Sony Hall for Spring/Summer 2027, designer Stephanie “Sunshine” Burleson sent out The B.O.S.S., a collection she calls a love letter to entrepreneurs. The message landed before the first model reached the end of the runway. You belong in the room, so dress like it.

Madison Ave Magazine caught up with Sunshine after the show. We talked about her roots and the name behind the label. She also shared what it takes to get a collection onto a New York runway.

A Seamstress Grandmother and a Pageant Start

Sunshine has always been a creative. Her path into fashion started with art and modeling long before it reached the sewing table. In fact, pageantry came first. That world gave her a love for clothes, and her grandmother gave her the skills to make them.

“My grandmother was a gifted seamstress,” she said. “She was teaching me how to do fashions, and from there, it just took off.”

Today, womenswear remains her core. Still, her models kept nudging her to grow. As a result, she has started branching into menswear and kids’ clothing. For now, she estimates that more than 80 percent of her customers are women. She wants that number to shift over time. “I would like to see it across all demographics,” she said.

The Meaning Behind the So Like You Name

The name grew out of something Sunshine kept noticing. People talk about fashion by pointing at someone else. They see a look across the room and try to copy it. She wanted her label to push back on that habit.

“You don’t have to be inspired to be like anyone else except for you. So following your own style, your own aesthetic, that’s kind of what it is.”

So who is the ideal So Like You customer? Her answer came fast. “Anyone. Literally anyone,” she said. “It’s in the name.” In her view, the clothes are not about her taste or anyone else’s. Instead, they are about how you choose to show up. Confidence is the only real requirement.

Inside The B.O.S.S. Collection at Runway 7

The idea behind The B.O.S.S. is simple. When you walk into a room, you should know you earned your seat. “It’s giving you that confidence to just own the room when you step in there,” Sunshine said. The clothes back that up with real structure.

Stripes did most of the talking. Satin bands of fuchsia and teal ran through the jackets and trains. Meanwhile, black satin kept every look sharp and grounded. Shoulders rose high and square, a clear nod to classic power dressing. Ties showed up again and again, including on the women, which turned a boardroom basic into the collection’s signature.

The opening look set the tone. A cropped striped bolero with towering shoulders sat over a black satin corset and wide-leg trousers. A matching tie hung at the center. Behind it, a long black train lined in stripes swept the floor. On top, a tilted striped hat studded with pearls finished the look, along with sheer polka-dot gloves.

Other pieces played with shape. One model wore a striped midi skirt that flared into a ruffled hem, paired with a sleek black satin top. Another wore a cropped striped jacket with a keyhole cutout over a black satin pencil dress. Later, a striped off-shoulder bodice met a textured black paillette skirt and long leather gloves.

The menswear look deserves its own mention. An olive satin shirt sat under a vest split down the middle. One side carried the collection’s stripes, while the other stayed in black suiting. A skinny striped tie tied it together. For a label that is 80 percent womenswear, it felt like a confident first step.

What Runway 7 Felt Like From Backstage

Sunshine loved the experience. More than that, she noticed the work behind it. “It’s a rush,” she said. Pulling off a show at that level takes serious manpower and coordination, and she felt it.

She saw that effort from every angle, from the crew in the back to the team out front. “Everyone working together, I can really appreciate the teamwork to make such a great production,” she said. Runway 7 was also her final show of 2026. Earlier in the year, she showed at an indie fashion showcase and at Respect My Art.

At the finale, Sunshine stepped out to join her models. Fittingly, she wore the collection too. Her black cutout blazer carried a striped panel at the waist, finished with a matching striped tie.

Advice From So Like You for New Designers

We asked Sunshine what she would tell someone who wants to be where she is now. Her answer had nothing to do with shortcuts.

“Be willing to grind. Everything does not happen overnight. You have to really love what you’re doing, because there’s gonna be those hard days.”

That passion, she said, is what keeps a designer in the game for the long haul. Talent helps, and so does skill. However, following through is what separates the dreamers from the doers. She also stressed that learning never stops. “Be willing to continue learning in your craft,” she said.

So where should someone start? For Sunshine, step one happens in the mirror. “You get to know yourself,” she said. “Sometimes that takes the intimate conversation with yourself, looking in the mirror, like, what is it that you’re most passionate about? And honing in on that.”

That advice fits the label perfectly. So Like You was never about copying the person across the room. Rather, it is about knowing who you are and walking in like you own the place. With The B.O.S.S., Sunshine gave that idea a wardrobe.