RVA Fashion Week, founded in 2008 and launched in 2009, reached new heights in its 6th Annual Showcase, which took place between April 27 and May 4 of this year. Richmond fashion lovers experienced a week long presentation of the diverse fashions of local retailers, the culture of the Richmond fashion scene, and the brilliant designs of up and coming local designers.
RVA Fashion Week, founded in 2008 and launched in 2009, reached new heights in its 6th Annual Showcase, which took place between April 27 and May 4 of this year. Richmond fashion lovers experienced a week long presentation of the diverse fashions of local retailers, the culture of the Richmond fashion scene, and the brilliant designs of up and coming local designers. RVA Fashion Week supports and inspires the creative individuals of the city, growing the witnesses to the talented fashion enthusiasts of Richmond.
The week started out with the Carytown Fashion Show, a tour of Carytown boutiques on Sunday April 27th. Carytown boutiques presented their upcoming Spring and Summer collections. The first boutique up was AlterNatives. AlterNatives sells apparel and jewelry under free trade and part of their proceeds go to the Highland Support Project, which helps to resolve women’s issues in Central America. Following AlterNatives was Glass Boat, featuring their classic pieces at noon.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
The next stop of the Tour of Carytown boutiques was at Ten Thousand Villages. The beautiful apparel for women and men presented by Ten Thousand Villages has a deeply rooted cause woven in. As one of the founding members of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), the company hopes to improve the livelihood of tens of thousands of disadvantaged artisans in 38 countries. The Tour’s last stop was at Fab’rik. Fab’rik has a mission of providing quality styles at an affordable price, which has given them two features in Lucky Magazine. The Carytown Fashion Tour reflected the fashion forward shops in Richmond but also the free and energetic spirit of Carytown.
Photo by Dawn Yilmaz
Day two of RVA Fashion Week was the Meet, Mix and Mingle event at The Tobacco Company in the Victorian Room. The event provided the opportunity to meet and talk with RVA Fashion bloggers, models, designers and photographers. Special guest designer Misha Nonoo from New York came to discuss how she reached her heights as a designer, with recent write ups in Harper’s Bazaar and W Magazine she had a plethora of fashion know-how.
The Jewelry and Accessories Showcase at the Glave Kocen Gallery was the event planned for day three of the 6th Annual RVA Fashion Week. Independent and local jewelry designers had a brilliant presentation at Glave Kocen; a few of the stand out designs were that of New Normal and Glass Boat.
Photo By Maria Parenti
Day four of RVA Fashion Week was held at the United Network for Organ Sharing on 4th St. (UNOS) was also RVA Fashion Week’s exclusive non-profit beneficiary. This was a first for RVA Fashion Week to host an Art Gala. Local Richmond brewery Isley Brewing Company provided beverages. The event was filled with beautiful works, but a few that really took my breath away were works by Asa Jackson, Zach Morris (also known as Earl Mack), and Bryan Buehrle.
Artwork by Asa Jackson
Photo by Maria Parenti
Artwork By Earl Mack
Photo By Maria Parenti
Day five of RVA Fashion Week was an amazing outdoor event in Scott’s Addition. RVA Threads Fashion Show featured various vintage boutiques from RVA. Local favorites Ashby, Clementine, and Rumors stole the runway, to a soundtrrack of live music from Celtic Panda and Agent.
Photo by Spartan Studios
The RVA Fashion Week Designer Showcase at the Broadberry solidified the growth of the local fashion scene. The Designer showcase is meant to provide the people of Richmond with a showcase of the city’s new, up-and-coming design talents. The biggest distinction of this years designers was a heavy emphasis on quality and individuality. Held at brand new local venue the Broadberry, the line was down the block when the doors opened at 8 PM. The excitement before the show was buzzing, but when the designs hit the runway it was electric. The designers for this year’s RVA Fashion Week were impressive, unique and reflective of the spirited, diverse fashion scene of Richmond.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
There were a few standouts that really reached out to me. One was the elegant work of Jasmine Justice. Jasmine Justice had gowns that were a classic, sleek silhouette with adventurous cut outs and embellishments that complimented the overall feel of her line.
C and C Sandbox LLC had an amazing show due to the very cute stylings for children and their adorable little models. The children’s looks come out of VA Beach, and the styles are bold and bright for the fashionable little one that strutted the runway.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
A huge impact on the strength of this year’s Designer Showcase was the quantity and quality of menswear designers. New up and coming brand Child Rebel brought a really interesting take on the modern male of Richmond. The looks from Child Rebel were militaristic in feeling and silhouette, although there were a lot of varsity letter embellishments that gave off an interesting structured meets sportswear feel, all while being very dramatic and impactful.
The brand Chilalay had both women’s and menswear pieces but it managed to all be very cohesive and reflect the creative styles of the local Richmond culture. The Chilalay looks had a very sportswear feel but the color choices were classic and their printed designs really made them identifiable as a clothing brand. A personal favorite of the pieces show by Chilalay were the amazing cut and sewn bucket hats.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
Stuart King of Rec League created waves with his screen printed and cut and sewn collection. The hands-on aspect of the Rec League brand has an emphasis on fashion, ensuring genuine personality and quality. The cut and sewn jogger pants, and button-up with a floral pattern under the collar, were show stealers as were the handmade duffel bags and backpacks showed very impressively on the runway.
The Designer Showcase was a huge success. It displayed the fresh faces of the fashion design scene in Richmond, and if it was any indication, we can expect great things from these talented local designers.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
The RVA Fashion Week Fashion Show Finale was held at the National between 7-11 pm on Saturday, May 3. The Finale Show featured some of Richmond’s favorite boutiques, as well as some amazing talent acts. The boutiques featured were the spring/summer collections for 2014 from South Moon Under, 707 Fine Clothing, Chace, BCBG, Ten Thousand Villages, Fabrik, Alternatives, and Glass Boat. The talent included The Handsmiths, McBeth, Joel Antoliajao, and Agent.
Photo by JC Vera Photography
The final day of RVA Fashion Week was the 2nd Annual Trunk Show at The Observation Deck above City Hall. The event had over 40 different vendors and participants, including independent designers, jewelry designers, local artists and hairstylists. The event was as charismatic and riviting as the people, the culture, and the spirit of Richmond. It is without a doubt that the 6th Annual RVA Fashion Week was the best thus far, exposing the flourishing fashion scene of RVA.
