New Orleans Fashion Week Fashion Fete Returns
/By New Orleans Magazine
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The much-anticipated fashion event of the year is set to take place Sept. 19-23. New Orleans Fashion Week(NOFW) is thrilled to return for its 10th season, bringing together the talents of amazing designers from the Gulf Coast region. The weeklong fete embraces New Orleans culture, and all things fashion, beauty, and creative. “It is an honor to receive recognition from the City of New Orleans and Embrace the Culture that fashion is an important contributor to the city’s culture and should be celebrated in conjunction with the city’s legendary cuisine, music, art, and film,” said Tracee Dundas, NOFW Founder/Creative Director.
Only having to pause due to the pandemic, NOFW has consistently grown since its inception in 2011 by establishing the standard for regional fashion and designers. The renowned event unites fashion professionals with a series of runway shows, presentations, pop-up boutiques, networking opportunities and social experiences. The weeklong schedule of events encourages economic growth by creating opportunities for greater sustainability in the fashion community.
“As the presence of local fashion continues to grow and makes its mark regionally and nationally, there is an increased responsibility to develop mutually beneficial partnerships between NOFW – the event and the business – and local designers seeking to infiltrate the industry,” said Dundas. NOFW programming has set the stage for local talent for nearly a decade and continue using it as a vehicle to catapult future designers as the fashion scene continues to evolve in unprecedented ways.
Making its fashion week debut with NOFW will be D’Amelio Footwear, a shoe line founded by the D’Amelio Family [Charli, Dixie, Heidi, and Marc], who rose to fame through their social media presence to create a cross-platform global brand. The D’Amelio’s have strategically grown its family brand to include a reality show on Hulu, beauty products, and an authentic, accessible, chic footwear line. D’Amelio Footwear will showcase its collection on September 23 at the historic Gallier Hall, New Orleans. Earlier that same day Indigo Boutique at Canal Place will host a Meet and Greet with Heidi D’Amelio. The matriarch of the family is a Louisiana native, former model with local agency ABOUTFACES, and longtime friend of Tracee Dundas. “Watching Heidi evolve over the years from model to mother now returning to the limelight as a social media and television sensation has been an incredible journey to witness and be a part of,” said Dundas.
Other fashion week highlights include a guided tour on September 20 of Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour with Mel Buchanan, Curator of Decorative Arts & Design at New Orleans Museum Art. The exhibit celebrates local designers as well with a mural installation showing the impact that fashion continues to have on the Gulf Coast region. And NOFW in partnership with Lakeside Mall will host Strut & Stretch, an opportunity to raise awareness and support Dress for Success New Orleans, a nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence.
