While New York and Paris Fashion Weeks may dominate global headlines, Columbus residents have their own vibrant fashion scene right in their backyard.
Fashion Week Columbus (FWC) kicked off at 9 a.m. Sunday, and will come to a close Saturday at 10 p.m. A week of fashion and fun, this year’s FWC — the 15th anniversary of this amazing event — is sure to stand out.
According to FWC’s website, the week’s events will include the annual High Fashion Tea — ”a fashionable afternoon tea” at Columbus’ Hotel Le Meridien at The Joseph — the Macy’s Fall Runway Show — which will showcase the latest fall trends styled by Macy's My Stylists — the Nordstrom Fall Beauty Showcase — a free event that includes makeup giveaways, makeup tutorials and refreshments — the Recycled Runway — a zero waste runway — and more.
To learn more about this year’s celebration, Scarlette Magazine spoke to Keira Chatman, the current executive director of both the nonprofit, Columbus Fashion Council and the main event that it sponsors every single year, FWC.
Chatman, who was born and raised in Columbus, said she first discovered her love for fashion when she was in high school. Now, she said her affinity for clothing has helped her travel the world. After moving to New York, she said she was involved in everything from visual merchandising with French luxury brand Chanel to the corporate side of fashion, where she dabbled in wholesale.
Now, as the Executive Director of the largest fashion nonprofit in Columbus, Chatman said she has finally made it back home.
“It’s a lot bigger role than I thought it was going to be,” Chatman said. “It’s only a week of fashion, people don’t understand that [the preparation] really takes a full year.”
Through public speaking, connecting with potential sponsors and working with designers, Chatman said she takes her work very seriously. Seeing as though this year marks the 15th anniversary of FWC, Chatman said the organization is making FWC 2024 bigger than ever.
“This year, we’re focusing on beauty with our Nordstrom event, and then we have a dedicated fashion show to curve,” Chatman said.
From a large vendor marketplace to intimate panel discussions, she said the Curve Premier Runway Show is one of the biggest additions to the week.
Chatman said the organization is more focused on growth than ever. She said there are an incredible 20 new designers who will showcase across the seven events at this year’s FWC.
“For High Fashion Tea, there’s typically four to five [designers]. For Recycled Runway, that can vary, but this year we have eight,” Chatman said. “For Curve, which is an addition, we have seven designers.”
Additionally, Chatman said this year is their biggest investment, not only in growth but also in diversity and inclusion.
Sasha Saberi, the board president of the Columbus Fashion Council, said the Curve runway show shines the spotlight on curvy bodies that tend to be brushed aside in typical fashion arenas.
In the same vein, Saberi said the Recycled Runway works to shed light on the ways in which the fashion industry can better the environment, and the sheer number of models included in this year’s event provides for a better representation of race, body types and gender exploration than ever before.
Saberi said this was one of the largest goals of the nonprofit. He said it was also one of the reasons that the theme “Fashion Forward” was chosen for this year’s event.
“It still has the traditional shows. We do have high-impact programs and shows throughout the week, but we have some new ones as well,” Saberi said. “We want to be more inclusive.”
Saberi said community and collaboration are extremely important to the organization, particularly in the production stages of this year’s FWC.
“That was the goal. The goal was to create an accelerator for collaboration and community engagement,” Saberi said.
More than anything, Chatman and Saberi said they would both like to make it known that Columbus should not be underestimated. Whether the Council is promoting Columbus-based designers and entrepreneurs, or even reaching far outside the confines of the city to achieve sponsors overseas, Columbus is a serious force of fashion — and is undoubtedly here to stay.
For more information about FWC, including information about purchasing tickets for the week’s events, visit the organization’s website.
