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Nashville Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow with a star-studded roster of major fashion players and up-and-coming local designers sending their fall 2011 looks down the runway. We spent a week in Nashville last fall and totally fell in love with the city—which, in addition to being the home of one of the best music scenes, well, anywhere, also boasts a booming fashion industry (see our peek inside Imogene+Willie) and retail scene (Karen Elson opened a store there and we're in love with the Billy Reid shop).
One of the best things about Nashville is the feeling you get when you're there—that it's a city that's young and modern and moving, but still retains a strong sense of heritage and history. With this in mind, it's no surprise that Nashville Fashion Week shows will be housed in some of the city's best-known landmark historic venues including the Pinnacle at Symphony Place, the downtown Arcade (built in 1902), the Crystal Fountain Church, and the 1925 War Memorial auditorium.
Check out the full list of designers and scheduled shows after the jump.
This year's Nashville Fashion Week designers include:
Akiko by Akiko Cook — A collection inspired by art, vintage prints and embroideries, Akiko has become a favorite with celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, Tori· Nashville Fashion Week [Official Site]
Spelling, Amanda Bynes and Ashley Tisdale and is sold in over 200 specialty boutiques and department stores.Aman Stovall – Southern natives Brent Johnson and Mary Catherine Moody’s luxury brand, Aman Stovall, is defined by Italian fabrications, couture sewing techniques and modern influences. Johnson’s skills in modern tailoring mixed with Moody’s embellishment techniques began the partnership of Aman Stovall.
Ben Sherman — The first company to produce the famous Oxford button-down shirt and the fourth largest men’s casual wear in the U.K., Ben Sherman’s design feature effortless cool, with the roundel and colors of the British Royal AirForce. The
line now also includes belts, bags, footwear and sunglasses.Betsey Johnson — Betsey Johnson has built her long-standing career in fashion by following her own set of rules. Known for her celebration of the exuberant, the embellished, and the over the top, Betsey has been rocking the fashion industry with her unique and original designs since the 1960s.
Christian Siriano — Siriano will headline Lexus Nashville Fashion Week’s Thursday runway shows at the Crystal Fountain Church in historic East Nashville. Just 25 years old, Siriano is quickly building both a luxury brand and a name for himself in the fashion community. He has shown six collections at New York Fashion Week, and his work has been worn by everyone from Rihanna to Christina Hendricks. He is Payless’ top selling collaboration, and his collection is sold at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue and internationally from Russia to Dubai. Siriano was the youngest winner of the hit series, Project Runway, in its fourth season.
Cooper by Courtney Warren — Warren has said it is her goal to “create a dress line that makes all women feel sexy and beautiful.” She named all the pieces in the line after her friends and family, a tribute to their support for her work.
Coquette by Brooke Shipley — Coquette swimwear is a combination of vintage elegance and modern design that come together to create one of a kind garments, reflecting the uniqueness of the women who wear them.
Gado Gado by Belinda Kazanci — Gado Gado garments are hand-made in Bali, using traditional methods of dyeing and printing and embellished and tailored by local crafts people in their villages. Designs are one-of-a-kind, using traditional Batik
motifs, altered to find an innovative balance between Eastern and Western cultures.Gustavo Cadile — Cadile’s designs are a collection of late day and evening gowns which combine the spirit of Argentine glamour with European sensibility and American style. Celebrities and fashion personalities such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Reese Witherspoon, Queen Latifah, January Jones and Vanessa Williams are wearing his clothes.
Jamie and the Jones — Jamie and the Jones is a collaboration of classic forms and raw artistic beauty. Wearable colors and shapes, infused with intricate hand embroidery, knit, crochet and fabric painting, create an understated elegance that is uniquely Jamie and the Jones.
Julianna Bass — Each of Bass's collections have been notably inspired by the past. Various eras have always been intriguing to the designer and have led her to explore the edge of romanticism. Julianna was selected as a designer to watch by both Women's Wear Daily and New York Magazine.
Katharine Kidd — Striking a balance between the era of 40s and 50s glamour with today’s sophisticated female, Kidd’s designs capture a feminine aesthetic that exudes both old-world chic and modern day freshness.
Kevork Kiledjian—Kiledjian was born into the world of art and design with a mother inspired by architecture and a father who worked as a couturier for Lanvin. Kiledjian’s latest line maintains the designer’s sensuous, refined aesthetic, infusing the luxurious garments with beauty and strength.
Leona Collection by Lauren Leonard — Sold at more than 100 retailers around the world, Leona Collection was described by Elle magazine as “whimsically youthful with a pinch of Southern sophistication.”
Loretta Jane by Kelli Cooper — Loretta Jane is a burgeoning ready-to-wear line emphasizing quality fabrics for a customer with both a playful spirit and a sophisticated eye for fashion.
Melissa Tabor — Melissa Tabor is a Nashville based women’s wear designer. She studied clothing design/marketing at AIU in Atlanta. She started her line in 2006 in Atlanta and debuted her first Nashville line this past fall.
Norma Clare by Anna Redmon — Redmon named her line after her grandmother, and her designs are inspired by vintage looks the original Norma would have loved. The fabrics she chooses often inspire her garments, and she often chooses cloth of a heavier weight and drape, with finished products distinguished by clean lines and shapes.
Olia Zavozina — Olia Zavozina is a designer and manufacturer of high fashion bridal gowns and bespoke menswear. Zavozina has been designing custom bridal gowns for the last five years and is now launching the Royal Elegance collection for retailers.
Robert Graham — The Robert Graham brand, for both men and women, is characterized by impeccable quality, exquisite detailing, and a wry, subtle wink of British-inspired humor. It's an attitude that carries through to the "Knowledge Wisdom Truth" label integrated discreetly into every garment.
Steven OO by Steven Oo — Oo debuted his collection as an MFA student at Bryant Park during Fall/Winter 2010 New York Fashion Week as part of the Academy of Art University. He specializes in intricate and structural knits and brings an unconventional approach to traditional knitting.
Sylvia Heisel — Heisel’s clothes embody both classic luxury and high-style global modernism. Sumptuous raw silks in her line, often in acid colors, align with vintage upholstery fabrics, startlingly futuristic textures and ornaments, and other surprises.
T. Rains — Traver Rains (formerly of Heatherette), who recently took some time off to work on his photography, is debuting his new line, T. Rains. His cool collection of silkscreened tees, tanks and hoodies is in keeping with his cowboy style, and the collection has a retro western feel, employing 60s pop art and images from Rains’s own photography.
Union of Angels by Cynthia Bapst — Bapst is an international clothing designer whose designs have been seen in numerous publications and runways. Her spring collection is sold in St. Barth, and she is working with well-known record labels in Nashville to dress their artists. Her future project is production of a television series called "Style in the City.”
Valentine Valentine by Amanda Valentine — Raised on thrifting and quilting in Nebraska, Amanda Valentine's mother taught her to sew at age 8. After a degree in design and a stint in Los Angeles, Valentine landed in Nashville where she is a wardrobe stylist and designer.
White Rabbit by Shea Steele — Shea Steele is a Nashville based designer with a keen eye for bold elements. White Rabbit garments and accessories reflect a background in fine art and employ striking combinations of volume, proportion, color and shape to achieve maximum impact through minimal means. Steele also owns Local Honey, a Nashville boutique known for its support of local designers.
· All Nashville coverage [Racked]