The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is an endowed fund established in 2011 that is dedicated to supporting 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 to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field. Charitable donations and proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week fund the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund.

Nashville Fashion Week first partnered with OZ Arts Nashville in 2014 for our first Nashville Fashion Forward Gala and by 2018 the contemporary arts center became home to all of our runway shows as well. OZ Arts Nashville, a 501(c)(3), has changed the cultural landscape of the city since its opening in 2014. Housed in the former C.A.O. cigar warehouse owned by Nashville’s Ozgener family, OZ Arts brings world-class performances and art installations to the city, and gives ambitious local artists opportunities to work on a grand scale. The flexible 10,000 square-foot, column-free venue, nestled amidst five acres of artfully landscaped grounds, is continually reconfigured to serve artists’ imaginations, and to challenge and inspire a diverse range of curious audiences. OZ Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission. For more information, please visit ozartsnashville.org.