Winston-Salem – The New Fashion Capital?

From Winston-Salem Fashion Week Founder & Creator Nikita Wallace / Written by Mackenzie Cates-Allen

Winston-Salem Fashion Week is a multicultural community event designed to bring awareness to Winston-Salem’s growing fashion and apparel industry. It is designed to incorporate the visual and performing arts with the fashion and apparel industry. It provides a platform to highlight and promote creativity and innovation in fashion and textiles by designers and industry professionals in and around Winston Salem.

I was inspired to create WSFW for students aspiring to become models, designers, photographers, editors, in major primary fashion cities that are very competitive, and for adults that had dreams of becoming designers or working in the fashion industry.  From this is mindset, I thought it would be cool to create an avenue where they can be stars and fashion influencers in their own city.

I am excited that the word; and awareness and interest is out in the City of Winston Salem about Winston Salem Fashion Week

FW is more than just fashion shows.  The showcases are designed to build an entrepreneur or designer’s brand; highlight and bring awareness of a new and existing boutiques; build the retail and apparel industry in our and neighboring cities and to provide economic growth.

I see WS becoming a Fashion Mecca.  The survey conducted by Sparefoot Blog in 2014, indicated that the women in the City of Winston-Salem spent more money on fashion related items.  If you look around at the various styles of women in the city, the individual take on fashion varies from casual, preppy, business, high-fashion, street wear, athletic, boho-chic to couture. This points to a city full of Fashionistas.

My role model?  My mother.  I know it’s cliché, but she is a true fashionista, a designer.  She would buy dresses, belts, jewelry to bring them home to reconstruct them.  She is 78 years old and still continues to recreate.

When I was 8 years old, I got a Fashion Plate Kit for Christmas.  I loved creating so many looks.  I still have it today.  And then came the Pointer Sisters and I fell in love with their take on fashion.  That must be the start of my love for fashion.

“Winston Salem Fashion Week is regarded as one of the premier events in the Triad since launching in 2015. Winston Salem Fashion Week is a multicultural community event that provides an opportunity for, but not exclusive to, local designers, artists and professionals in the apparel industry (as well as sponsoring business owners and partners) to showcase their collections and talents while expanding their brands.In 2016, Mayor Allen Joines highlighted the mission and how it fits in with the City of Arts and Innovation.

2017 will feature 10 designers and 6 emerging designers that will present their Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer Collections on the runway by professional models. Eight local retailers will introduce the looks for 2017 Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer 2018.

Come prepared to shop their pop up shops, as well as from some of the Triads high-end boutiques and retailers in the Vendors Gallery.”