Chattanooga Fashion Week had another successful year, holding its second event here in Chattanooga, TN. The runway event was held on the rooftop of The Hunter Museum of American Art. The venue was absolutely beautiful and the view was lovely as well.
The Children’s Runway Show came up first featuring designs from Accessorize by Monsoon, Blue Eyes & Bare Feet, Southern Grace, and Sada Fashions. Those kiddos were absolutely adorable. I appreciate that the kids looked like children. They had age appropriate makeup and charmed everyone as they galavanted down the runway. There also gave a little sneak peak on the collections that we’d be seeing later in the evening.
The Grand Finale took place later on that evening. The pieces were a mixture between of Evening wear, Lingerie, Swimwear, and Ready to Wear Casual/Formal pieces.
There were 7 designers present: Jenna Colina, Francine Elizabeth Designs, Yatra, Odelia Rouse, Vic & Kimchi, Navy & Pearls, and Ajnel.
Jenna Colina’s line of swimwear was not your conventional swimwear. She has many different style options to choose from, which is great so you can find one that compliments your body type easily. She custom makes swimwear as well, which would be most necessary for women that are ‘gifted’ in the mammary department.
Following the Jenna Colina Swimwear line was a global/india inspired ready to wear line called Yatra. This collection featured a lot of tunics and fabrics with shine and bold patterns.
Francine Elizabeth Designs collection consisted of a lot of cocktail-esque dresses with lace detailing along with metallic, camel, and bold statements of color.
The Navy & Pearls collection had a lot of southern charm to it. Every piece from this line had a very feminine feel. My personal style isn’t super feminine but I could see myself wearing some of the dresses with a leather jacket to toughen it up a bit.
The emphasis of the Odelia Rose line was bold color, mixing prints, and mixing textures. I could tell that this line was meant to be daring, bold, and sassy. She also used one of my absolute favorite neutrals…Leopard Print!
One of the runway announcers gave us a good heads up on what he called “a super conservative line; something that could be worn to church.” It was a good laugh because the next presentation was a lingerie line by Vic & Kimchi. They seemed to have thought out of the box with their negligé. I don’t personally wear undergarments that I may possibly need instruction for, however, there was a model with a faux hawk that KILLED it on the runway.
The Ajnel Collection had a certain amount of whimsy to it. A few pieces reminded me of a fairy tale, while some of the other dresses can be worn to a cocktail party.
My favorite things about Chattanooga Fashion Week was the diversity of shapes, shades, and sizes represented. There were women with beautiful deep mahogany skin, lovely olive tones, and pretty porcelain skin tones. There were hourglass, pear, apple shaped women, and any other fruit you could think of. There were also children and women with beautiful straight hair, regal coils, and everything in between.
Gage Talent Agency did an amazing job of highlighting beauty in a diverse and cognizant way. Their intentionality in making sure that many different types of women were represented is not only a step in the right direction for the fashion industry, but for women in general.
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