Nashville Fashion Week was conceived in 2010 to foster Nashville’s heralded community spirit and concentration of creative, fashion-forward and entrepreneurial talent, to create a one-of-a-kind five day event that is uniquely Nashville.
Nashville Fashion Week kicked off in April 2011 with a city-wide celebration of Nashville’s thriving fashion and retail community and its vast array of creative talent and continues to gain momentum year after year. Featuring local, regional and national designers and industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the city encourages both Nashvillians and visitors to explore the city’s diverse fashion and retail spaces with promotions, partnerships and educational workshops.
Nashville Fashion Week was co-founded by a collaboration of fashion, media and marketing professionals that partnered to combine their passion and resources to create a completely volunteer-led, run and managed event that spotlights Nashville’s growing fashion community with an ongoing, sustainable focus for philanthropic support of our creative community.
Nashville Fashion Week was selected in 2021 by the Council of Fashion Designers (CFDA) as one of twelve regional organizations nationwide that were invited to join and benefit from the new CFDA Connects initiative. CFDA Connects is a programming network in support of regional fashion weeks and organizations through promotion, business support, resources and member privileges.
Ticket proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund gives an annual award to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field each year. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund ensures that Nashville Fashion Week will impact the Nashville fashion community for many years to come.
Take a glance at recaps from previous years for more insight into the history of Nashville Fashion Week.
The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is an endowed fund that supports the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing an annual financial award and resources for experiential professional development opportunities. ALL experienced fashion industry professionals, including designers, photographers, stylists, models, hair and makeup artists, retailers, content creators, etc., are encouraged to apply for this award to further their career in our local fashion industry.
Established in 2011 by the co-founders of Nashville Fashion Week, the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Award recipients are selected by a committee of the Community Foundation board based on pre-established criteria inspired by the Council of Fashion Designers (CFDA)/VOGUE Fashion Fund to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field. Applications are accepted each fall with the recipient announced in January. Ticket proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund.
The Community Foundation exists to promote and facilitate giving in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee and beyond. It does this by accepting gifts of any size from anyone at any time and by empowering individuals, families, companies, nonprofits, and communities to respond to needs and opportunities that matter. The Community Foundation works with people who have great hearts, whether or not they have great wealth, to craft solutions that reflect their intentions and goals. For more information, call 615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org.
Read about our Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Recipients.
Nashville Fashion Week is a registered trademark. The name, materials and logos may not be used without the express written permission of the Executive Committee of Nashville Fashion Week. All site photography is provided by our NFW official photographers unless otherwise specified. Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Registration # 5278727.