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The Fourth Annual Winston-Salem Fashion Week returns to the catwalk
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instonSalem Fashion Week starts this weekend, and this year it is more local than ever before. Nikita Wallace, founder and director of Winston-Salem Katie Murawski Fashion Week, said this year’s designers are all from North Editor Carolina and many are from the Triad. Wallace started Winston-Salem Fashion Week in 2015 after she pitched the idea for her senior project at Salem College. She said at the first Fashion Week; there were only eight designers, about 80 models and an attendance of about 200-250. This year, there are 13 designers, around 80 models and an expected 300 in attendance. The designers include Puja Aura, LaTosha Bell, Iris Cole, Melissa Coleman, Tiffany Flowers, April Gilliam, Ahmad Johnson, Jane Murrow, Anne Pembaur, Jayson Sloan, Taylor Wallace and Kimberly Yontz. “We are not exclusive to just North Carolina- in the past, we have had some [designers] from Virginia, Georgia, New York- but this is the first show that we can say they are all from North Carolina. We are excited about it,” Wallace said. “I’ve always had a huge passion to do something in fashion. Growing up in Virginia, I didn’t really have an opportunity; there were no platforms where you can flourish in anything for fashion.” Wallace’s passion for fashion dates back to when she was 8 years old, however, she wasn’t able to study it in college. She had an opportunity later in life to move to New York and work with her friend as a designer. She spent a few years in New York City but then moved back to Winston-Salem in 2007. She then worked with Forsyth County School students that had the same passion for working in the fashion industry (whether it be as a model, designer, artist, photographers, etc.). As she experienced, YES! WEEKLY
SEPTEMBER 19-25, 2018
the fashion industry in major cities such as New York and Atlanta are very competitive markets, “especially for freshman straight out of high school.” “So, I thought, let’s create a platform here,” she said. “For these kids or for creatives, why not have a small Winston-Salem Fashion Week on a smaller version?” Which is exactly what Winston-Salem Fashion Week has become, a “high energy and exciting” gathering of diverse creatives in the city to celebrate art, apparel and fashion. Wallace said the theme of this year’s Fashion Week is transformation and will be presented at the Sept. 29 showcase. “We are still celebrating our accomplished history that we have in so many areas of the industry, but also how we are transforming from that into innova-
tion and technology,” she said. “A few of the designers have chosen to create an unconventional look that will represent the history of Winston-Salem-- like Old Salem, R.J. Reynolds, Dewey’s Bakery and Hanesbrands.” To go along with the theme, Wallace said Winston-Salem Fashion Week is in its second year of collaboration with Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina. Goodwill will be presenting six local designers at the Saturday night showcase as apart of their line called “Diva, Dapper on a Dime.” These designers go to various Goodwill retail stores to recreate and transform apparel to walk down the catwalk. Wallace also mentioned designer Jane Gillian who used technology to create “3D Design” apparel designed online and then transformed into a reality. “We actually have a [designer/vendor] who is presenting a collection and her fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles,” Wallace said of Do Good Artist, which according to the website (www. wsfashionweek.com), is “an innovative company creating social impact through multi-sector collaborations between the arts and other industries.” Iris Cole is the director and designer of the collaboration for Do Good Artist, and
she said fashion is a big part of the company because of its growing industry. Do Good Artist will present its line at the Sept. 29 showcase. Cole has created a special line just for Winston-Salem Fashion Week that highlights some work that is being done within the community and local fashion industry. For instance, Do Good Artist is launching a line of T-shirts that are made of 50 percent recycled plastic bottles and each design carries a social empowerment message addressing numerous issues such as domestic violence, self-awareness/love, and poverty. “Our skirts for Winston-Salem Fashion Week are also made out of fabric that is made out of recycled plastic bottles,” she said. “[The skirts] are canvases for appliqués from upcycled fabric from Goodwill, and were made by refugee women in Winston-Salem.” These women are apart of the YMCA’s refugee literacy program and are taught English and skills such as sewing. Cole said volunteers from UNCSA’s dance costume shop made the skirts and volunteers from Winston-Salem’s FEARLESS helped out as well. Cole said Do Good Artist’s models are dancers from UNCSA, and their hair/ makeup will be done by a professor at the school who has a program that teaches students how to make medical wigs for cancer patients. “Lots of amazing things that are going on in our community that are making a difference that is all being visually presented through a fashion line,” Cole said. “We have had a really fantastic time doing it; I would
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