Save These Dates... Fashion is More Than A Week!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOURSELF IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY?

Nashville Fashion Week was conceived in 2010 to foster and support Nashville’s heralded community spirit and concentration of creative, fashion-forward and entrepreneurial talent with an ongoing, sustainable focus for philanthropic support of our creative community. All proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The NFF Fund gives an annual award to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field each year and ensures that Nashville Fashion Week will impact the Nashville fashion community for many years to come.

Get ready...The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee will accept applications for the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund from September 6 - October 19. Professionals working in all aspects of the fashion industry with ties to middle Tennessee, from designers and photographers to stylists, models, hair and makeup artists, retail owners and bloggers, are encouraged to apply. Start thinking about the best way to present your case for an experiential professional development opportunity that will develop and enhance you, your career and ultimately our fashion community. The NFF Fund award is provided each year through proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week. 

Previous NFFF recipients include apparel designers Maria Silver, Eric Bornhop, Julianna Bass and Lauren Leonard Phelps; fashion photographer Brett Warren; accessory designer Ceri Hoover; and Elise Joseph, founder of Pennyweight and Goodwin. You could be next! 

The NFFF award recipient is selected by a committee of the Board of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and will be notified later this year. Detailed information will be announced on September 6th when the application goes live. #whynfw

NEW DATE! The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee invites you to celebrate and support the entrepreneurial spirit of Nashville’s creative arts and fashion community with Nashville Fashion Week and our partner OZ Arts Nashville at the Fifth Annual Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala on Saturday, January 19th at OZ Arts Nashville. Our originally proposed Gala and Fashion Forward Awards date was slated for fall, but we made the decision to move this event to January to avoid several industry-wide conflicts and accommodate some exciting new updates for our program. Save the date and please stay tuned for all of the details to come!

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala To Celebrate Nashville’s Creative Community On Closing Night of Nashville Fashion Week

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala To Celebrate Nashville’s Creative Community On Closing Night of Nashville Fashion Week

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and co-chairs Kimberly Lewis and Gen Sohr invite you to celebrate and support the entrepreneurial spirit of Nashville’s creative arts and fashion community at the fourth annual Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala on Saturday, April 8 at Track One in the burgeoning Wedgehood Houston area. The Fashion Forward Gala is the culmination of Nashville Fashion Week’s five day celebration featuring local, regional and national designers and industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the city. The Gala will be designed and coordinated by AmosEvents.

Nashville Fashion Week is excited to announce that Butch Spyridon, President of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp, will speak to the importance of the arts and creativity as a cornerstone of the Nashville economy. Natalie Chanin, founder and creative director of Alabama Chanin, will be the guest speaker for the evening followed by a musical performance by singer-songwriter Shelly Colvin. 

“I am honored to be included in this event. Fashion has become the next step in the creative “thread” that speaks to Nashville’s unique and authentic offerings,” Spyridon said.

Nashville Fashion Week will present its third Nashville Fashion Forward Awards at the Fashion Forward Gala to recognize community leaders that have made an impact on the Nashville fashion industry. Sandra Lipman is the 2017 Nashville Style Icon. Awards will also be presented for the Fashion Forward, Legacy, Face of Fashion (sponsored by Picture Booth), Rising Star (sponsored by The Mall at Green Hills) and Point of View (sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka) recipients at the event. 

“All of us at Alabama Chanin are so honored and excited to be participating in Nashville Fashion Week. It has been wonderful watching the industry unfold, connect creative individuals, and flourish in our communities. It has only just begun,” says Chanin.

In 2013, Chanin won the CFDA/Lexus Eco-Fashion Challenge, an award competition that identifies and celebrates the greatest American designers working in the realm of sustainable fashion. Chanin continues to learn and to teach craft traditions, using them to bridge generational, economic, and cultural gaps. Steluta will host an Alabama Chanin Lifestyle Pop Up Show featuring collection pieces and home goods curated by Alabama Chanin on April 1-9 in their East Nashville boutique. 

“Nashville Fashion Week has grown to have a significant impact on young designers, and the industry as a whole is paying attention. It’s an honor to sit on their advisory council during this exciting time, and I’m especially thrilled to perform at this year’s gala, where my friend Natalie Chanin will be speaking,” Colvin says.

Colvin has written and recorded two full-length albums, and collaborated with numerous artists on stage and off including John Prine and The Black Crowes. Shelly is featured in the critically acclaimed music documentary Heartburn Highways Revisited and has performed at many festivals and historical venues including Bonnaroo, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Stagecoach, Lincoln Center and was most recently a featured artist at Dylan Fest at the Ryman Auditorium.

Individual tickets to the Gala can be purchased for $200, tables of 10 for $2,000, and sponsored tables for $2,500 at NashvilleFashionWeek.com and includes The Gala Late Party. Others can join the festivities following the awards ceremony at 10 p.m. Late Party tickets are $50.

Nashville Fashion Week will be held April 4-8 at unique locations throughout the city. Runway and All Access Passes as well as tickets to individual events are now available in a wide range of prices. All proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week 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 Makes Lots Of Announcements at Kickoff Party

We had a great time and made a lot of big announcements at the Nashville Fashion Week 2017 Kickoff Party at The Hermitage Hotel Ballroom last night. The event sold out quickly, but don’t worry if you missed it, here’s all of the inside scoop.

SIXTH ANNUAL NASHVILLE FASHION FORWARD FUND RECIPIENT NAMED BY THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Fashion photographer Brett Warren has been named the sixth annual Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipient by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). A committee of the Board of CFMT selected Warren amongst a group of experienced fashion industry applicants with ties to Middle Tennessee. Warren is the first photographer to be selected as a recipient of the fund. 

Brett Warren lives in a world where anything is possible. While studying design and photography at MTSU, Brett became passionately inspired to present the world as it could be through images that would appeal to the mind and imagination. What started with a dream and a Nikon Cool Pix has turned into a means to convey emotion, and to share untold stories and convictions. Along the way he found encouragement through a personal encounter with Wayne White, a more-than-serendipitous internship with Annie Leibovitz, and invitations to shoot at New York Fashion Week.

Since 2011 he has produced multiple events, spoken at Universities, worked behind the scenes on sets for Vogue, art directed major label music videos, and had his work featured in local and national publications. In addition, Brett has been highly active in the local community by serving on the Nashville Fashion Week Advisory Council, and is an avid supporter of the Nashville fashion community. He has been recognized among his peers, for his “Point of View,” and built long-lasting relationships with those in and out of the fashion world.

While he has worked with easily recognized brands such as, Billy Reid, Surface Magazine, and GQ, he is just as passionate about working with some that may not be as familiar…yet.

Established in 2011, the objective of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is to provide an award that recognizes the individual achievements of a fashion industry professional. The financial resources that accompany the award are intended to provide an experiential professional development opportunity for the recipient to further advance their career in the fashion industry. 

2017 DESIGNERS ANNOUNCED

Nashville Fashion Week 2017 will include three nights of runway shows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights. For the first time, NFW will offer a Runway Pass that includes entry to all three events plus the option to upgrade to guaranteed seating.

We're excited to announce sixteen designers that will be featured at unique runway locations throughout the city during year seven of the five-day event. 

NFW will open with the Nashville Designer Showcase on Tuesday April 4. NFW alumni Amanda Valentine, Any Old Iron, Ona Rex and Truly Alvarenga will join Cavanagh Baker and Minxx on the runway.

Andrew Gallivan, Lily Guilder, Madness Is, Nasheli Juliana and Splashed by DKG were selected from hundreds of designer applications to show collections on Wednesday night at the Emerging Designer Runway Show.

Fauxgerty, Lagi Nadeau, Michael Drummond, Patrick Assaraf and Shea Steele will present their collections at the 2017 Ready-to-Wear Runway Show on Friday night. 

Bios and photos of all designers are available at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.

SANDRA LIPMAN TO RECEIVE THE 2017 STYLE ICON AWARD AT THE NASHVILLE FASHION FORWARD GALA

Nashville Fashion Week 2017 will close with the fourth annual Nashville Fashion Forward Gala. Last year’s Gala Co-Chair Gen Sohr, co-founder of Paper and Pencil, is back this year and will be joined by Emerson Grace boutique owner, Kimberly Lewis to chair this year's celebratory event featuring the Nashville Fashion Forward Awards presentation. The 2017 Style Icon Award will be presented to Nashville philanthropist and fashion maven Sandra Lipman. The Fashion Forward, Legacy, Face of Fashion, Rising Star and Point of View Awards will be announced at the Gala.

Nashville Fashion Week will also host a Photography + Fashion event on Thursday. City-wide shopping events and educational experiences will fill the official schedule. More specific event details will be announced in the next few weeks.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Nashville Fashion Week 2017 will be held April 4-8. All Access Passes, Runway Passes and tickets for all events are on sale now at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.

All NFW ticket holders get FREE admission to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts from April 3-16 featuring the exhibit of iconic fashion photographer Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty with proof of purchase. 

All proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, an endowed fund established to support the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing financial award and resources for experiential professional development opportunities.  

PURCHASE TICKETS

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ABOUT NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK

Nashville Fashion Week is a city-wide celebration of Nashville’s thriving fashion and retail community and its vast array of creative talent. Featuring local, regional and national designers and industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the week encourages both Nashvillians and visitors to explore the city’s diverse fashion and retail spaces throughout theweek with promotions, partnerships and educational workshops. NFW is founded and directed by a collaboration of fashion, retail and media professionals who have combined their passion and resources to create a completely volunteer-led and run event spotlighting Nashville's growing fashion community with a sustainable focus for philanthropic support of the NashvilleFashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Nashville Fashion Week Presents Fashion Forward Awards at The Third Annual Fashion Forward Gala

Nashville Fashion Week Presents Fashion Forward Awards at The Third Annual Fashion Forward Gala

Nashville Fashion Week ended year six with their third annual Nashville Fashion Forward Gala and presentation of Fashion Forward Awards at Oz Arts Nashville on Saturday, April 9. The 2016 Gala, co-chaired by Alizah Greenberg and Gen Sohr, was created to celebrate and support the resolute, entrepreneurial spirit of the Nashville fashion community. AmosEvents created a dreamy black and white environment with the painting of local artist Alic Daniel at center stage.

Mayor Megan Barry and inaugural Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipient, and NFW featured designer, Julianna Bass served as keynote speakers of the gala with Holly Williams and husband Chris Coleman performing three musical selections for the fashionable crowd. The Nashville Fashion Week Co-Founders, 2015 NFFF recipient Eric Adler and award sponsors The Mall at Green Hills, Margaret Ellis Jewelry and Tito's Handmade Vodka presented the awards in front of a sold out crowd.

Recipients of the 2016 Nashville Fashion Forward Awards are:

Nashville Style Icon: Holly Williams, singer-songwriter and entrepreneur

Fashion Forward Award: Dean Wegner, Omega Apparel

Legacy: Manuel Cuevas, Manuel Couture

Face of Fashion | Sponsored by Margaret Ellis Jewelry: Dylan Stephens, AMAX Talent and Next Model Management

Rising Star | Sponsored by The Mall at Green Hills: Maria Silver, Black by Maria Silver

Point of View | Sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka: Mary Seng, Happily Grey

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Nashville Fashion Week featured 23 collections from local and international designers and a series of three educational panels at six unique venues throughout the city over five days. Forty-one retail events contributed to the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee through donations and proceeds from event sales. All proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund, 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. Application details for the 2016 Fund award will be announced this fall.

ABOUT NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK
Nashville Fashion Week, founded in 2010, is a city-wide celebration of Nashville’s thriving fashion and retail community and its vast array of creative talent. Featuring local, regional and national designers and industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the week encourages both Nashvillians and visitors to explore the city’s diverse fashion and retail spaces throughout the week with promotions, partnerships and educational workshops. NFW is founded and directed by a collaboration of fashion, retail and media professionals who have combined their passion and resources to create a completely volunteer-led and run event spotlighting Nashville's growing fashion community with a sustainable focus for philanthropic support of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.