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NFFF Gala

Nashville Fashion Week Presents The 2017 Fashion Forward Awards at The Fourth Annual Fashion Forward Gala

NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK PRESENTS THE 2017 FASHION FORWARD AWARDS AT THE FOURTH ANNUAL FASHION FORWARD GALA

Nashville Fashion Week ended year seven with the fourth annual Nashville Fashion Forward Gala and presentation of the Fashion Forward Awards at Track One on Saturday, April 8. The 2017 Gala, co-chaired by Kimberly Lewis and Gen Sohr, was created to celebrate and support the resolute, entrepreneurial spirit of the Nashville fashion community following the week-long festivities and that it did!

AmosEvents created a dreamy indoor garden party with 2016 NFF recipient Brett Warren’s larger than life fashion photographs centerstage. Butch Spyridon, President of the Nashville Convention and Visitor's Corp, Natalie Chanin, founder of Alabama Chanin and fashion photographer Brett Warren served as keynote speakers of the gala with Shelly Colvin performing two musical selections for the fashionable sold out crowd. The Nashville Fashion Week co-founders, Connie Cathcart-Richardson, Marcia Masulla and Mike Smith presented the awards with sponsors Margaret Ellis Jewelry, PictureBooth.co and Tito's Handmade Vodka. 

Recipients of the 2017 Nashville Fashion Forward Awards are:

Barrett Ward

FASHION FORWARD AWARD | Barrett Ward, FASHIONABLE

Barrett Ward is the founder and CEO of FASHIONABLE, a fashion company with a mission of creating sustainable business opportunities for women. Their products, which include handmade jewelry, premium leather, apparel, and woven goods, are created by women who have overcome extraordinary circumstances, ranging from prostitution to addiction to a lack of opportunity due to poverty. Currently, over 300 women are employed globally because of FASHIONABLE, in areas including Nashville, Ethiopia, Peru, and Mexico.

Sandra Lipman

NASHVILLE STYLE ICON | Sandra Lipman

Native Nashvillian Sandra Lipman is well known across the community as a tireless advocate for community organizations and non-profits. She has strategized and chaired some of Nashville’s most important charitable events over the years, including the Junior League’s Showhouse, Iroquois Steeplechase, Symphony Fashion Show, the first Power of the Purse luncheon for the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation, the first Frist Gala for the Frist Center, Symphony Ball, Ballet Ball, Cheekwood’s 50th Swan Ball and many more.

David & Ellen Levy

LEGACY AWARD | David & Ellen Levy, Levy’s Clothier

David Levy is fifth generation owner of Levy's, founded in 1855 by his great-great grandfather.  He joined the company in 1977 after the passing of his father, Ralph Z Levy, Sr.  Having grown up in the business, it was only natural that he would lead the company into the 21st century. Levy's has been named continuously to the Gold Standard list of outstanding men's specialty stores since 2001 and been a presenting sponsor of NFW since 2011.

Renae Currey

RISING STAR | Renae Currey | Lucy Pop Salon

Sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Renae is a Nashville native and a professional hair and makeup artistwith a special emphasis on translating fashion and runway beauty trends into wearable hair and make up looks for clients in the salon. She started Lucy Pop Salon in 2010, where she continues to work with clients and lead a staff of 18. Her freelance work has been featured in publications like Porter Magazine, Nylon Magazine, and Teen Vogue, and she is an educator for the fashion focused, luxury hair care brand, Kevin Murphy.

Cassie Kelly

POINT OF VIEW AWARD | Cassie Kelley

Sponsored by PictureBooth.co

Cassie founded her personal blog Womanista.com in 2012 as a way to connect with and empower women while on the road touring with her husband Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum. Womanista expanded as a media lifestyle brand in 2015 with contributing writers and bloggers and now has over 7 million unique registered users.

Renee Peters

FACE OF FASHION | Renee Peters 

Sponsored by Margaret Ellis Jewelry

Renee Peters grew up in Nashville, but is now living and working in New York City as a Wilhelmina model and an advocate of sustainable living. She strives to be a role model in all that she does, using her platform for positive change. Her blog Model4GreenLiving seeks to reshape the way people think about environmental issues and to show that it’s cool to care. She uses her social media to send a message of self-love and body-positivity and to encourage mindful, sustainable living. Renee volunteers, is an environmental activist, as well as a budding philanthropist in her free time.

View photographs from the Gala as well as runway shots, back of house sneek peeks and party pics from throughout the week at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.

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. 

Butch Spyridon
Natalie Chanin
Shelly Colvin

“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

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

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.

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala Set to Celebrate Creativity on Final Night of Nashville Fashion Week

THE NASHVILLE FASHION FORWARD GALA SET TO CELEBRATE CREATIVITY ON FINAL NIGHT OF NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee invites the local community to celebrate and support the resolute, entrepreneurial spirit of Nashville fashion community at the third annual Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Gala, co-chaired by Alizah Greenberg and Gen Sohr, on Saturday, April 9 at OZ Nashville. 

Nashville Fashion Week is excited to welcome Mayor Megan Barry as the keynote speaker. Mayor Barry will speak to the importance of the arts and creativity as a cornerstone of the Nashville economy. Singer-songwriter Holly Williams will join Mayor Barry and fashion designer Julianna Bass, the 2011 Nashville Fashion Forward award recipient, as guest speakers at the event.  Williams will also perform during the evening’s festivities. 

“The fashion industry here in Nashville is a vital component of the artistic and creative economy which is critical to the success of our city,” said Mayor Megan Barry. “It is wonderful to see fashion designers and industry leaders coming together to support their fellow fashion designers at the Nashville Fashion Forward Gala which supports the important work of 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. 

Holly Williams

“As a fashion enthusiast and entrepreneur here in Nashville, it is vital that we support worthy causes like the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund,” said Holly Williams. “I am looking forward to co-hosting the gala alongside Mayor Megan Barry.”

For the second year, Nashville Fashion Week will present the Nashville Fashion Forward Awards at the Gala. Award recognitions include the Nashville Style Icon, Fashion Forward, Legacy, Face of Fashion, Rising Star (sponsored by The Mall at Green Hills) and Point of View (sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka).  

Individual tickets to the Gala can be purchased for $150, tables of 10 for $1,250, and sponsored tables for $2,500. 

Julianna Bass has also been added to the City Lights: Ready-to-Wear Runway Show designer lineup at Legislative Plaza on April 9. The City Lights Show is sponsored by The Mall at Green Hills.

Julianna Bass is an American fashion designer who debuted her eponymous women’s collection with a runway presentation during AW15 New York Fashion Week. Bass is a Tennessee native who moved to New York to study fashion and costume design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. 

“It is an honor to be presenting at Nashville Fashion Week this year,” said Julianna Bass. “The brand is stretched all over the world, but there is something to be said about coming home. I was thrilled to have been awarded the first Nashville Fashion Forward Fund award, and I used it to expand my knowledge of international fashion trade shows. I traveled to the Bread & Butter Show in Berlin, Germany. And, while visiting Berlin I was so inspired that I decided to make the move from New York two years ago. My time in Berlin has given me an incredible mix of freedom and focus, where I can truly design from my authentic self. And, while I am now back in New York full time to focus on brand expansion, living in Berlin opened a world of possibilities for me both personally and professionally.”

Nashville Fashion Week is April 5 - 9 at unique locations throughout the city. The full schedule, All Access Passes and tickets to all events are now available in a range of prices at nashvillefashionweek.com. All proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week benefit the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

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 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.