Think of it like you’re going to the Olympics. No one is looking at bobsleigh for the first time at the Games. You train, you identify the paintings, you inform yourself of the failures, you paint your strategy and your morale. Then you enter the fray and navigate the sports formula to compete at higher and higher levels. Nor does any designer present their first collection at Haute Couture Week. Debuting in the big leagues of fashion (Paris, London, New York, Milan) requires meticulous teamwork. While we may recognize the Olympics as the world’s largest platform for fashion diplomacy, athletes make their way through a series of local, regional, national and foreign events. A similar career path is emerging for American fashion designers working in women’s fashion, menswear, footwear, jewelry, and accessories. Beyond New York, three U. S. destinations have captured the attention of the global industry: LA Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week® – The Shows, and the MAGIC industry showcase in Las Vegas. However, national skill thrives in all 50 states.
Over the past decade, regional fashion weeks have been gaining momentum. The trend has accelerated in recent years thanks to the conversion of customer priorities and a post-pandemic focus on local initiatives. The concept of buying local has transcended its origins in the food industry. , from farm to table. Additionally, the exponential expansion of social media and e-commerce capabilities has created significant opportunities for creators to succeed with their customers and future-proof their businesses through established retail systems. The web has democratized access to fashion not only for buyers, but also for those interested in the industry. You can start marketing and promoting products on your phone.
Many fashion startups see Fashion Weeks as an exciting “next-level” opportunity to grow their offline communities and explore the terrain by entering wholesale or foreign markets. Beyond pleasure, regional and local fashion weeks have several socio-economic and cultural goals:
Here’s a coast-to-coast list of the most sensible fashion weeks in the U. S. A number of companies in the U. S. that are driving interconnected and sustainable local fashion ecosystems.
NXT Fashion Week
The Portland, Oregon-based event celebrates its 10th anniversary with a carbon-neutral certification. The mayor’s initiative has grown into a #FashionTech competition, a business accelerator and a skills incubator. American Fashion Podcast sees his perspective on the nation’s biggest emerging skill. platform.
Next edition: October 5 – 7, 2023
Denver Fashion Week
The Mile High runway belongs to “one of the fastest growing fashion platforms in America. The media-savvy event delivers on its promise to provide an “all-inclusive, uplifting, and supportive” environment for all the participants as its audience and reach have doubled season to season.
Next edition: May 2024
Atlanta Fashion Week
For 16 years the platform has diligently pursued the mission of “connecting continents through fashion” as Tyler Perry Studios put Atlanta on the global filmmaking map. Make sure to also visit SCAD FASH (Fashion + Film Museum) as a testament to the city’s great style renaissance.
Next edition: September 26 – October 1, 2023
DC Fashion Week
This year, the platform celebrates twenty years elevating the nation’s capital to the seat of fashion power. From First Ladies to foreign dignitaries to the Smithsonian, the stylistic legacy offers highlights with the latest trends in a community with the second youngest. population in the country.
Next edition: September 29 – October 1, 2023
Fashion Week Alabama
This all-volunteer event brings fashion lovers from across the Tennessee valley to Huntsville. Among the highlights, its runway features Next Top Model walk-off winners. Alabama Fashion Alliance offers professional development opportunities through its membership program.
Next edition: September 15-17, 2023
Phoenix Fashion Week
Fashion. Education. Community. These are the 3 pillars of the largest trading platform in the Southwest. Since 2008, it has been organising seminars, meetings and skills searches, culminating in a bi-annual weekend of fashion exhibitions at the aptly named Château Luxe.
Next edition: October 20-21, 2023
Interpreter Arkansas
From sewing workshops to a 10-part fashion film to a biennial, this platform runs on “big ideas with a community focus.” The learn-make-show talent development strategy makes Springdale an unlikely must-visit destination for American fashion enthusiasts. Y’all better come now.
Next edition: June 2023
San Diego Fashion Week
San Diego is home to both the longest running independently owned fashion week in the world and the oldest fashion film festival in North America (on hiatus in 2023). It takes “not just a week of shows, but a whole year of events” to appreciate the richness of California style(s).
Next edition: October 7-8, 2023
ST LOUIS, MO – NOVEMBER 4: (From left to right) Fern Mallis, Emerging Designer Award jury, president of the Saint Louis Fund. . . Susan Sherman and winner Iris Apfel pose for photographs before the show’s presentation at the Caleres Emerging Designer Award presentation through Saint Louis Fashion Fund’s St. Louis Fashion Week. St. Louis on Nov. 4, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo via Fernando Leon/Getty Images for Saint Louis Fashion Fund)
Midwest Fashion Week
Build it, and they will sashay. In 2006 designer Berny Martin envisioned Indianapolis as a style gateway between the US and the world. His two-way runway approach has brought international designers to the Midwest and Midwestern designers to New York, Johannesburg, and Paris.
Next edition: March 2024
Kansas City Fashion Week
Mid-20th century, Kansas City was the garment capital of post-war America dictating style and retail trends before NYC took up the trendsetting baton. Since 2010, KCFW has been building on its storied Midwest heritage becoming one of the original CFDA Connects platforms in 2021.
Next edition: – September 23, 2023
Boston Fashion Week
The platform “cultivates fashion as an integral component of the Boston lifestyle. “Building on the region’s illustrious educational pedigree, the season kicks off in collaboration with the Cambridge Science Festival and Hoverlay AR’s augmented truth reports to create a cool high-tech environment.
Next edition: September 30 — October 7, 2023
Michigan Fashion Week
Detroit is not resting on its famed Motor City and Motown laurels. Since 2015, the platform has been revving up the Great Lakes fashion community to anchor new creative economies in the region, in part through its outreach and commitment to transparency in designer participation.
Next edition: June 13-16, 2023
Fashion Week Minnesota
Since 2015, the platform has been celebrating styles and the Twin Cities, one of the most diverse metropolitan spaces in the United States. Its First Nations Fashion Day is part of an expansion program focused on five spaces: education, innovation, reputation and business. and investment.
Next edition: April 2024
Omaha Fashion Week
“Nice to meet you,” says the landing page. Since 2008, this unabashedly expansive mindset has powered the growth of the platform into the fourth largest fashion event in the US. Paying it forward, the weeklong Omaha Fashion Camp teaches teens about the ins and outs of the industry.
Next edition: August 21-26, 2023
Columbus Fashion Week
Putting the Oh in Ohio, Columbus “ranks third in the number of resident fashion designers” behind NY and LA. This phenomenon could be credited to the platform’s “launch and sustain” mission. Since 2010, the event attracts nation’s top talent to city “fueled by relentless optimism.”
Next edition: September 24 – 30, 2023
Richmond Fashion Week
“Be careful, world. Richmond is booming. What began in 2008 as a VCU student event has grown into an all-volunteer statewide platform for local artistic talent. Its educational roots are strong, as evidenced by the Fashion Symposium held in partnership with Henrico County Public Schools.
Next edition: April 2024
The next American Fashion Week?
Could your network gain advantages by consolidating itself in the fashion space?What would it take to launch and maintain a fashion week in its danger zone?Start the conversation. Join the movement.