Back for an amazing 11th time, RVA Fashion Week will bring all the glamorous runway action your little heart desires to a variety of venues around town. Here’s our full rundown of what’s in store.
Converging on Richmond this week for six days of colorful runway shows, intriguing industry-minded panel discussions, and invaluable networking opportunities for the creatively inclined, the 11th RVA Fashion Week kicks off Monday, April 22.
Masterminded by a ragtag group of VCU students more than a decade ago, the week of events maintains a DIY work ethic to this day, and boasts a heart, soul, and body of volunteer workers. Their effort plays an important role in the community; one previously unknown model who walked the local runway just last year was recently featured on the cover of Vogue Japan, according to a press release.
Read on for a day-by-day rundown of all the festivities which will rage on across the city until Sunday, April 28. Trust us, you’re not going to want to miss any of this.
Fashion Funhouse Networking Event
April 22, 6- 9 p.m.
Location unknown
Not much is known about the dark acts transpiring behind the closed Funhouse doors — as David Foster Wallace might have urged us to ask: for whom is the funhouse fun? OK no, we’re just kidding — but this event is invite-only, a networking get-together for industry professionals, photographers, bloggers, and the like, according to our sources. Probably a schmooze-fest, but an exciting one, no doubt. Holding that golden ticket? Let us know how it goes.
“Model Behavior” Panel
April 23, 6- 8:30 p.m.
Gather
The first real event of the week for us laypeople, the Model Behavior panel will cover everything about, as the cheeky wordplay of the title suggests, professionalism in the modeling side of the fashion industry. Expect networking and self-branding tips, what to wear to a model call — you know, before you get chosen and put the real stuff on — and all the Q’s and A’s you can hope for.
WEAR RVA Pre-Show Event
April 24, 4:30- 8:30
The Shoppes at The Renaissance
This event is really just a pregame for the real event — the WEAR RVA Fashion Show — but it’s sure to be a hootenanny nonetheless. Officially branded a “sip + shop experience,” which we think is incredibly cute (in a good way), the evening will include shopping from featured designers, boutiques, and local businesses; booze catering by Belle Isle Moonshine; and DJing by Rhythm of Love. What’s more, tickets go directly to The Network of Enterprising Women’s (NEW) scholarship fund, so what’s not to love?
Designer Download panel
April 24, 6- 9 p.m.
Venture X
Do you dream in silk and lace? Wake up in the mornings surrounded by Micron pens and brimming sketchbooks? This panel, crafted just for aspiring designers, is definitely for you! Like “Model Behavior,” “Designer Download” will tread the ground of professionalism and personal branding, but we’ll also get words and stories from some of the best: designers who have succeeded against all odds in markets such as film, designing for celebrities, international publications, and more.
Check out the panel lineup online, and prepare your questions for the Q and A. Terms like “monumental success” and “against all odds” are being thrown around on the website, so you know you aren’t going to want to miss this one.
2nd Annual WEAR RVA Fashion Show
April 25, 6:30- 8:30 p.m.
The Renaissance
This one’s really special. Local high school-aged girls strutting the catwalk in local boutiques’ hottest summerwear. Everything goes to the NEW scholarship fund, which, according to the RVA Fashion Week website, resulted last year in five different scholarships for local ladies. Feel good with your complementary “swag bag” and get a tad tipsy at the cash bar. Support the scene, people. It’s all going down at WEAR RVA.
Day to Night Fashion Show
April 26, 5- 9 p.m.
Stony Point Fashion Park
Day to Night — we’re not entirely sure what this means, but it sounds stellar. Or another daytime-equivalent term. But, we’ve just got to say — this one’s free; jam-packed with features from designers including Haus of Klyde, Runway Couture, Stitch by Chanel, High Maintenance LLC, and many more; and there’s going to be food and shopping popups all over the place. Yeah. Need we say more?
Fashion Freedom: Day Party & Runway Presentation
April 27, noon- 5 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott
Are late nights and evening shenanigans just not really your thing? Not a twentysomething anymore? Tend to crawl into bed with an Agatha Christie paperback at the stroke of 9? Well, you’re in luck, because the Fashion Freedom Day Party & Runway Presentation not only starts and ends a reasonable time, but it’s packed with more than enough fun for one person, or even all your fashion enthusiast friends at once. Here’s the lowdown: food, drinks, music, streetwear-inspired runways, and a contest for you — yes, you! Unleash your inner Tyra Banks and come dressed in your favorite outfit; you might be crowned “Best Dressed” before you make it home at that oh-so-sweet reasonable hour.
Tim Reid’s Cultural Fashions Showcase
April 27, 5- 7 p.m.
RVA Event Space
Masterminded by actor and Virginia native Tim Reid (That 70’s Show, WKRP In Cincinnati), and hosted by model and designer Salome, the Cultural Fashions Showcase will bring together models and designers from all over the world, and will be filmed for international distribution. Proceeds benefit Reid’s nonprofit, which assists young people looking to break into the entertainment industry. WTKR gave us a little sneak peak last month, so check that out if you haven’t already.
Dapper Luq presents An Evening at Black Iris
April 28, 5- 10 p.m.
Black Iris
Maybe the perfect way to bring RVA Fashion Week to a close, An Evening at Black Iris is everything this wide-ranging week of events has to offer bundled into one classy little shindig. Come on, where else are you going to find networking opportunities, body painting, and a fashion showcase in the same space as a cigar lounge? It’ll be interactive. It’ll be fun. And there’ll be way too much going on to concisely list here. Just go — you’ll be glad you did.
Photos via RVA Fashion Week/Facebook