One year ago, on Oct. 22, 2022, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC), the Columbus Fashion Council (CFC) and IL Moda Brands partnered to create the Common Thread Shops on Third – Columbus’ first fashion and retail district in Downtown Columbus that features local and national labels that were born out of the Columbus fashion industry.
On Friday, The fashion council celebrated the first anniversary of the shops with a block party hosted at the shopping center with a DJ, giveaways, champagne toasts, food and dessert trucks and more.
The event included an exclusive pop-up shop called “Prajjé Oscar and Friends” – put on by IL Moda Brands and Project Runway star and this year’s Fashion Week Columbus headline designer Prajjé O. Jean Baptiste – that featured both ready-to-wear and couture designs from some of the contestants who starred alongside Baptiste on “Project Runway All Stars.”
Lubna Najjar, president of the Columbus Fashion Council and founder of IL Moda Brands, said the original goal of the Common Thread Shops was to bring the runway designs of local up-and-coming fashion designers to storefronts in the community.
“The shops provide an opportunity to test their market within the city of Columbus, which is a huge test market for apparel and retail,” said Najjar. “The hope is to continue to evolve the program and bring new tenants in new opportunities in the pop-up shop monthly.”
The block party also served as the grand opening for two new tenants at the Common Thread Shops; By Field and Flower from vegan hatmaker Brooke Denune and Haitian-American mixed media artist Ludie Senatus’ label, who will join the six other brands at the shops including Alex Vinash New York, Encinas Designs, Xantha Ward, Joan Madison Couture and White Canvas Designs & Holistic Wellness.
Brooke Denune, founder of By Field and Flower, said she first began her fashion career at Kent State University where she studied fashion merchandising before graduating in 2018 and moving to Los Angeles to start her company.
The goal of the brand, Denune said, was to merge her love for fashion with her passion for giving back. For that reason, a percentage of every hat sale made goes towards protecting bee and butterfly habitats around the world.
“Pollinators are so important to the environment, that’s kind of the base from where everything starts,” said Denune.
Denune said when Lubna came to her with the opportunity to join the Common Thread Shops she jumped at the opportunity.
“I’ve known Lubna Najjar for like 10 years now. She was my mentor back when I was in high school and she is kind of the whole reason I got into the fashion industry,” said Denune “Now I’ve worked in the fashion industry for about seven years, all over the place. Living in L.A. was great, but there is just so much competition. The city just isn’t designed to help small businesses. I just feel like there is so much more room for growth in Columbus.”
Denune said she wanted to bring the idea of hat bars — a store with a variety of hats that customers can choose from and customize — to the Midwest and she wanted to make it affordable.
“With TikTok recently, it has grown and the thing I think people don’t realize about the hat bars they see on TikTok and they do amazing things and they are so cool, but they are $800 hats,” said Denune. “I wanted something like that. Everyone deserves to have a customized hat but I also wanted it to fit in their price point.”
By Field and Flower is now open at the Common Thread Shops on Third. The shops are open Thursday-Saturday 12-6 p.m. at 249-275 S. Third St.
For more information visit the Common Thread Shops on Third website.
