As Fashion Week Columbus celebrates ten years with a runway show under the stars, the message that Columbus is a fashion destination is being sent loud and clear.
Part non-profit, part-fashion experience - the annual event is working to highlight the plethora of talent in what some may oddly still consider a sleepy midwestern town.
“We are number three in the nation for fashion designers behind New York and LA,” Columbus Fashion Council Founder Tommy McClure said.
“We have a ton of fashion designers here in our city that we’ve worked with through Fashion Week Columbus.”
With the capital city skyline as a backdrop, more than 800 sat as more than 150 models strutted looks from various designers. Some of the designers ventured from New York city to showcase and absorb the talent of central Ohio.
“Words getting out and this is why we have Christian Cowan in and why we have other designers coming,” McClure said.
With Columbus boasting several renowned shopping destinations, a design school and the home offices of several fortune 500 retailers like Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria secret – organizers say the event is about working to keep the talent local and grow this city’s place on fashion industry map.
“The cool thing about the fashion industry is that its art meets business, so we have a lot of artists or designers that are making a living from doing what they love which is designing.”