THE MALL AT GREEN HILLS AND RITHOLZ LEVY FIELDS TO PRESENT NFW FASHION TALKS 2020: DIVERSITY + INCLUSION
Moderated by Fern Mallis with designers Tanya Taylor, Timo Weiland, Peter Som and Nordstrom Nashville Chanel Ready-to-Wear Brand Ambassador Barry Grider
Join us on Monday, March 30 from 5:00 -8:30 p.m. for "Fashion Talks: Diversity and Inclusion", an interactive Nashville Fashion Week Learning Lab sponsored by our host The Mall at Green Hills and Ritholz Levy Fields LLP. This engaging conversation will be moderated by Fern Mallis, the award-winning creator of New York Fashion Week. A panel of industry leaders - designers Tanya Taylor, Timo Weiland and Peter Som with Nordstrom Nashville's Chanel Ready-to-Wear Brand Ambassador, Barry Grider - will share their insight on this vital shift in the fashion industry and beyond. A Meet and Greet with Fern Mallis will be from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. with a limited number of her book, Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis, available for purchase before the discussion. The Mall at Green Hills will host a Mall Crawl afterwards from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Tickets are now available for $30 at NashvilleFashionWeek.com to benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Nashville Fashion Week is welcoming back our friend and mentor Fern Mallis for the sixth year and third installment of the "Fashion Talks" series. Along with confirmed press appearances in Nashville, Mallis is also slated to meet with participating NFW designers for a private meet and greet, attend special events and accept the first ever NFW x Fern Mallis Mentorship Award on the opening night of Nashville Fashion Week in partnership with OZ Arts Nashville on March 31.
Our educational sponsor, Middle Tennessee State University, will facilitate and produce the live-stream which will be aired on Nashville Fashion Week's Facebook and InstaStories channels.
Photographed by Sophie Elgort
“I’m so happy to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Nashville Fashion Week. Congratulations to the best team ever! I’m proud to have been able to support the talent, creativity and passion here in Nashville." - Fern Mallis
Fern Mallis has been called an industry titan, doyenne, and The Godmother of Fashion. As the creator and host of premiere conversation series Fashion Icons w/Fern Mallis at New York’s prestigious 92nd Street Y, Mallis assembled an incredible roster of guests for her now signature in-depth interviews, including Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, André Leon Talley, Bruce Weber, Bill Cunningham, Valentino, Victoria Beckham, Rosita and Angela Missoni, Alexander Wang, Russell Westbrook, Bob Mackie, and Billy Porter; to name just a few. Her book, published by Rizzoli, Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis, is a must read of her first 19 interviews. Stay tuned for Volume 2 coming hopefully in 2021.
Mallis also created and hosted her own radio show, Fashion Insiders w/Fern Mallis on Sirius XM, During which time she interviewed over 400 industry personalities, celebrities, and professionals. In January 2012, she made her theatre stage debut in the Off-Broadway production of Nora & Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Mallis also created her own globally inspired FERN FINDS: jewelry, clothing and accessories line for QVC and HSN.
The Mall at Green Hills is the presenting host of Fashion Talks 2020. The Mall at Green Hills is located in the heart of Nashville's Green Hills community and within striking distance to the vibrant downtown area. With more than 100 specialty stores and eateries, the mall offers an unparalleled mix of luxury, everyday brands, and approximately 55 unique-to-market brands and retailers. The Mall at Green Hills features Tennessee’s only Nordstrom, Gucci, Crate & Barrel and RH Gallery. A preferred retail destination among travelers, the shopping center received the TripAdvisor 2018 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ for earning outstanding consumer reviews. Explore stores, dining, events, sales and offers at ShopGreensHills.com, Facebook.com/MallAtGreenHills, @MallAtGreenHills on Instagram and Snapchat.
NFW Shop Nashville...Mall Crawl* from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Let’s Go Shopping Nashville! Following the NFW Fashion Talks 2020 panel, enjoy exclusive discounts by showing your RSVP confirmation at select retailers. For a list of participating retailers in our Mall Crawl visit ShopGreenHills.com.
“The Fashion Talks panel discussion not only kicks off Nashville Fashion Week, but marks the first in the mALL Talk series at The Mall at Green Hills. mALL Talk aims to inform and inspire, featuring lively discussions with thought leaders from a variety of industries.” – Norah Buikstra, General Manager, The Mall at Green Hills
mALL Talk aims to inform and inspire, featuring lively discussions with thought leaders from a variety of industries. Plan to attend mALL Talk on the third Monday of each month at The Mall at Green Hills. For the mALL Talk line-up, visit ShopGreenHills.com/mALLTalk. Next up: April 20.
* All offers valid Monday, March 30th, 2020 only. Some restrictions may apply, and all offers are subject to change. See store for details. Must present RSVP confirmation email, or your event credentials, to receive offer. While supplies last. Discounts are supplied before tax. No cash value. Offer valid at The Mall at Green Hills locations only.
Ritholz Levy Fields LLP is the supporting sponsor for this special event. RLF is a dynamic and fast-growing law firm, with offices in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and Miami, representing clients in media, entertainment, fashion, technology and general “brand-based” businesses across a wide variety of corporate, commercial and intellectual property law disciplines. With decades of experience as lawyers, and, in some cases, former executives in these fields, the firm brings an insider’s perspective and a sophisticated approach to provide cost-effective and business-centric solutions for its clients. The firm has a key focus in helping its clients fund and launch new businesses, grow them and take them through public and private liquidity events, especially clients that leverage creative works such as fashion and apparel companies.
“Year after year, the Nashville fashion community consistently validates its well-deserved spot on the national and international fashion map. RLF is honored and grateful to be a part of such an incredible group of unique, creative and hard-working individuals and organizations who make the Nashville fashion industry what it is, especially organizations like Nashville Fashion Week who we are proud to support including the upcoming NFW Fashion Talks event focusing on inclusion and diversity.” - Peter Fields, Ritholz Levy Fields LLP
Tanya Taylor started her namesake label in 2012 with the mission to inspire all women to live in color. By celebrating individuality, the brand aims to create a community where every woman feels included. Through the artful use of color, texture and original hand-painted prints each Tanya Taylor collection is designed to bring confidence and high-energy happiness into a woman’s daily life. The collections are sold at retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. The brand has been worn by a diverse range of inspirational women such as Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Tracee Ellis Ross, Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kristen Wiig and Aidy Bryant. Tanya Taylor is an inclusive brand defined by a point of view and is proud to offer styles in sizes 0-22.
“I’m thrilled Nashville Fashion Week is kicking off events by discussing the importance of inclusivity and diversity. I’m honored to be a part of the panel with legend Fern Mallis and I’m looking forward to seeing these topics take center stage throughout the week.” - Tanya Taylor.
Timo Weiland is an award-winning Creative Director, serial entrepreneur and DJ based in New York City. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and raised between Florida and New York. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, he worked for several years as an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. covering Media & Technology before launching his first startup. Since 2010, Timo has successfully built a namesake lifestyle brand, as well as businesses across food & beverage, design, media, B2B intelligence, real estate, technology, and venture capital. The Timo Weiland brand, co-founded in 2010 with Alan Eckstein and Donna Kang, won the prestigious Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award, Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Design, as well as the Council of Fashion Designers of America x Cadillac Retail Innovation grant. Recent projects include co-founding The Lead, creative direction for GAP's Banana Republic, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG Worldwide), and one of the world's largest direct-to-consumer optical brands, Zenni. He works between his creative offices in Brooklyn, retail operation with Groupe on the Bowery, recording studio in Flatiron, and venture capital offices in Lower Manhattan. Timo has been recently profiled in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vogue, WWD, Forbes, and Fast Company.
Levy's Clothier will host a Shop Nashville Meet and Greet and Pop Up Shop with Timo during Nashville Fashion Week. Levy’s is a family-owned business offering a wide variety of men’s and women’s upscale designer apparel. Open since 1855, Levy’s has been run by the same family for 164 years. We are recognized as the oldest men’s clothing store in America, and one of the best in the nation. Since its inception, Levy’s has been honored as Esquire’s Best of Class Gold Standard Men’s Specialty store, which recognizes stores that “continuously raise the bar on what it means to be the best in the business”.
“I am thrilled to return to Nashville for Fashion Week not only to show the latest TW collection, but to have an important conversation with my mentor & friend, Fern Mallis, Tanya Taylor and Peter Som who I have had the pleasure of getting to know through the CFDA. The discussion on Diversity & Inclusion couldn't be more timely or urgent with the upcoming 2020 elections and toxicity of the current political climate.” - Timo Weiland
Born in San Francisco, Peter Som launched his award-winning eponymous collection in 2000. Known for his signature clean-lined yet feminine designs, his clothing has been worn by such notable women as Michelle Obama, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Beyonce and Scarlett Johannson. His clothes have sold worldwide at top retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, and he has had highly successful collaborations with Kohl’s and Anthropologie. His signature, bold and colorful patterns has inspired a furniture and tabletop collection with The Inside. Peter is also widely known for his love of entertaining and food. His recipes been featured in numerous publications and digital platforms including Vogue.com, Elle.com, Bon Appetit, Refinery29, Food and Wine and FeedFeed, where he is a contributor. Peter lives in New York City where he can often be found in the kitchen covered in flour.
"Fashion is a reflection - and hopefully sometimes a prediction - of where we are as a culture. It’s so great that the conversation is being facilitated around the country and of course here at NFW. The blinders are off on how we design, how we shop and how we define beauty. All of us get to celebrate the beauty of our uniqueness and individuality and that’s a great cause. It’s not that there’s ‘room at the table’ for everyone, it’s that we’ve decided to build a new table that’s bigger and stronger and more resilient than ever." - Peter Som
As the Chanel Ready-To-Wear Ambassador at Nordstrom Green Hills, Barry Grider has grown his career in luxury through decades of service to his hometown of Nashville. He is often recognized for his exceptional selling abilities and service provided to clients, but it is the deep relationships he has created over a lifetime of retail that are most meaningful to him. In his career, Barry has experienced incredible opportunities with Nordstrom and the Chanel brand including buying trips to Paris, exclusive visits to the Chanel archives and Metiers d’art, and most recently opening Nordstrom’s New York flagship store. While Barry’s accomplishments at work give him much to be proud of, he values the time spent with family and close friends most of all. Outside of work, Barry is often traveling, enjoying new dining experiences, dancing, snow skiing, roller skating, or indulging in Netflix.
"As people continue to move to this great city, there is a growing opportunity to collaborate more in our industry." - Barry Grider, Chanel Ready-To-Wear Ambassador at Nordstrom Green Hills
Fashion Talks is part of the NFW Learning Lab series. This is one of five educational opportunities that have been announced to provide a platform to engage, learn and connect experientially within the community. Please make plans early to attend at least one of these special events.
Tickets for Fashion Talks and the other Learning Labs can be reserved at NashvilleFashionWeek.com. Space is limited and reservations are required, even for FREE events. Proceeds from all Nashville Fashion Week events benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund is an endowed fund established to support the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing a financial award and resources for experiential professional development opportunities.
Nashville Fashion Week will be held March 31 - April 4 in partnership with OZ Arts Nashville. Tickets to individual events are available in a wide range of prices at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.