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EMBELLISH
Accessorize for the season.
BrIGHT LIGHTS, IroN CITy
The story behind one of the country’s best new music venues.
A STory To TELL
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JoEy KENNEdy
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+Fashion Week PrevieW b-metro.com
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When:
Thursday, May 7–Saturday, May 9
Where:
Pepper Place, 2829 Second Avenue South
Birmingham Fashion Week Fifth Annual
Fresh Face Model Winner 2014, Anna Marie Mobley
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Visit bhamfashionweek.com for tickets and additional information.
Find Us Instagram @bhamfashionweek Facebook facebook.com/bhamfashionweek Twitter @bhamfashweek
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Thursday, May 7 Opening Designer: Gunnar Deatherage Eight Emerging Designers, four finalists selected 20 Rising Design Stars (brought to you by Buffalo Rock), 10 finalists selected Featured Designer: TBA Headlining Designer: Laura Kathleen Model Competition Friday, May 8 Opening Designer: Joshua McKinley Eight Emerging Designers, four finalists selected 20 Rising Design Stars (brought to you by Buffalo Rock),10 finalists selected Up & Coming Designer: Bradford Billingsley Headlining Designer: The AntHill Collection by Anthony Ryan Auld Model Competition Saturday, May 9: Fashion Finale Opening Designer: Heidi Elnora Eight Finalist Emerging Designers, Emerging Designer winner announced 20 Finalist Rising Design Stars (brought to you by Buffalo Rock), Rising Design Star announced Featured Designer: TBA Headlining Designer: Michelle Lesniak Model Competition: Face of BFW 2015 Announced
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Hosts NIKI NOTO PALMER
Niki Noto Palmer is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor of arts degree in telecommunications. Post graduation, she lived in Nashville, Tennessee, assisting the media relations and marketing department for the Tennessee Titans. In 2010, Palmer moved to Atlanta and began working with the Atlanta Falcons as their inside reporter, covering the football team, cheerleaders, and community relations department. The next year, Palmer joined ESPN and began traveling the country to the hottest college football matchups for ESPNU’s Road Trip. Palmer continues to work for ESPN as a sideline reporter and correspondent for various events. Birmingham will always be home to the Oak Mountain High School grad, and she couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of Birmingham Fashion Week.
TARA GRAY
Tara Gray is a TV host and producer in Los Angeles, and you’ve seen her on national TV shows like The Daily Buzz, Extra, Right This Minute, The Soup on E!, Life Love Shopping on Oxygen, and The Good Buy Girls, which she co-created, produced, and starred in for TLC. Gray is no stranger to Birmingham television either, beginning her career working as a producer for FOX6’s Good Day Alabama, an entertainment reporter for CW21, and the face of My68. She is a graduate of Auburn University and represented Alabama twice on the national level as Miss Alabama Teen USA and Miss Alabama USA. Gray has hosted Birmingham Fashion Week since its inception five years ago and views this unique opportunity as an honor and a privilege. The work and professionalism that goes into this event is awe-inspiring and the beauty, philanthropy, and creative inspiration it brings to the Magic City each year is unparalleled.
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Thursday, May 7 GUNNAR DEATHERAGE As a contestant on seasons nine and 10 of Lifetime’s Project Runway, Gunnar Deatherage’s experience on the show came to life on one of the biggest stages in the fashion industry: the tents of the Lincoln Center. There he presented his Spring/Summer 2012 collection for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. He later went on to compete on season four of Project Runway All Stars. Currently, Deatherage is working as creative director of Nfocus Louisville magazine where he furnishes both progressive fashion spreads and cover features every month. He also provides services for private high-end clients, all while building his namesake brand. gunnardeatherage.com
LAURA KATHLEEN Saint Louis designer Laura Kathleen Baker began working on her career in fashion when she was 8 years old. After many years of designing and constructing garments for herself, she attended Western Kentucky University where she earned a bachelors degree in design, merchandising, and textiles. Baker also studied fashion design at Academia Italiana in Florence Italy. Baker has turned the dream of being a fashion designer into a reality. You may have caught her designs on season nine of Project Runway as a top five finalist or on the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. After Project Runway, Baker had the opportunity to compete on Project Runway All Stars season two, where she finished in the top six. Baker now casts the new designers with Lifetime and has also done commentary on the Road to the Runway. Baker also began a fashion program at a high school in St. Louis. Six years ago, she began realizing she would be teaching much more than just fashion. Each year the program has a fashion show fundraiser where the students model their own creations. In 2012, they raised $30,000 for the school in one night. The 2013 show brought in $70,000 and it continues to grow each year. laurakathleen.com 92
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Friday, May 8
ANTHONY RYAN Anthony Ryan Auld is a Louisiana-based fashion designer who won the second season of Lifetime’s Project Runway All Stars, along with the title of Fan Favorite. He was also previously featured on the ninth season of Lifetime’s Project Runway. A Louisiana State University graduate known for his unconventional use of fabrics and raw outlook, Auld has been recognized nationally for his award-winning designs. He has also studied design techniques in Paris, France, under the creative minds behind Vivienne Westwood, Basil Soda, Elie Saab, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Anne-Valerie Hash. A cancer survivor, Auld is the founder of ROAR, a nonprofit foundation that gives voice to those with inspiring stories of survival in the face of adversity. Why whisper when you can ROAR? With his label Anthony Ryan, Auld creates fashion to inspire the modern woman with clean lines, definitive shapes, and bold fabric selections. His innovative use of color and simple forms continues to bring forward-thinking women striking pieces that are current yet amaranthine. In conjunction with his label, Auld has recently launched an upscale, lifestyle-concept store titled The ANTHILL by Anthony Ryan. This flagship store combines clothing, art, home décor, and various accessories into one entity to create a fashion community. The store presents individuals with an original shopping experience, enhanced by one-on-one styling consultations in an inspiring setting. The ANTHILL by Anthony Ryan aims to embrace all individuals as just that: individuals. InTheAnthill.com JOSHUA MCKINLEY Talent, authenticity, and personality are words used to describe the rising fashion talent Joshua McKinley. Educated at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and Polimoda in Florence, Italy, McKinley experiments with classic cuts in innovative high-tech fabrics. The 28-year-old designer is known for a “more is better” aesthetic. McKinley was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to show his work to the world and rise to success as runner-up of the Emmynominated ninth season of Project Runway and made the final four of the second season of Project Runway All Stars. McKinley continues to focus on his signature menswear and women’s wear collections, while collaborating on a capsule collection of dresses and gowns with Johnathan Kayne that is entirely suited for red carpet, galas, and pageants. McKinley hopes his work helps to inspire others to follow their dreams and never give up. Bradford billingsley At the age of only 13 years old, Bradford Billingsley already has quite a head start in the fashion industry. Sketching designs since the age of 4, the Pizitz Middle School eighth grader’s keen eye for glamorous style and passion for fashion has bloomed into a full-fledged career aspiration. Billingsley honed his skills for designing red-carpet worthy dresses in both the 2013 and 2014 Birmingham Fashion Week Rising Star Design Competitions, in which he won third and second place, respectively. Also in 2014, Miss Teen Alabama wore a gown Billingsley created especially for her. The young designer has been featured in numerous publications, including as a Style Icon in B-Metro magazine. The latest jewel in his crown was winning top honors on the Lifetime TV competition Project Runway: Threads.
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Saturday, May 9
HEIDI ELNORA From a humble beginning to bridal stores across the world, Elnora has built the acclaimed wedding gown company heidi elnora from the ground up. Her journey began upon graduation from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2002, where Elnora was taught the couture techniques of the fashion industry. Her passion for couture and the creation of timeless pieces resulted in the establishment of heidi elnora in 2006. Following the footprints of great designers before her, Elnora’s gowns are recognized by their quality in construction, fine attention to detail, and feminine relevance. Based in Alabama, the heidi elnora brand is focused on being a personal and honest company as they stay true to their Southern roots. Today, the heidi elnora brand can be found in more than 32 stores worldwide. With the launch of Heidi’s reality show, Bride By Design, on TLC, which premiered March 27, there is a new layer of the heidi elnora brand to be unveiled. Heidielnora.com MICHELLE LESNIAK Michelle Lesniak, winner of Project Runway season 11, wowed judges and viewers alike with her strong aesthetic and quick wit. Although nearly eliminated, Lesniak tenaciously fought back to reveal one of the most cohesive and distinctive collections seen on Project Runway to date. Though she studied printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lesniak couldn’t keep her hands off of textiles. Self-taught in both garment design and leather working, her love of art, print, texture, and music manifests itself through her designs. Lesniak is committed to staying in her hometown of Portland. Her dedication to local manufacturing and ethical business practices is playing a key role in shaping and growing the Portland Fashion Industry. michellelesniak.com The Rising Design Star Challenge (sponsored by Buffalo Rock) The Rising Design Star Challenge brought to you by Buffalo Rock Co. reaches out to junior high and high school students across the state. This year, 189 students submitted concepts for garments made out of nontraditional items, from garbage bags to balloons to coffee filters to solo cups and more. The top 40 designs were selected and those students currently have their garments displayed at the Birmingham Museum of Art (March 27–April 26) for the public to see and vote for their favorite. The top designs will advance to show on the runway. The students were given a surprise challenge when each student received a bag filled with various Buffalo Rock Co. raw materials ranging from a variety of aluminum Pepsi cans to Grapico boxes. Each garment has to be either glued, stapled, or taped together and will be judged on concept, creativity, and execution on the runway during BFW. One lucky Rising Design Star will receive $500 from Buffalo Rock. The second place winner will be awarded $300 and third place $200, also from Buffalo Rock Co. The Emerging Designer Competition The Emerging Designer Competition was created to give college and post-grad students a platform to showcase their design talent in front of retailers and media outlets alike. From the 34 applicants, the top 16 Emerging Designers were chosen, having been judged on their mood boards, illustrations, construction, and creativity. Eight designers will compete on Thursday and eight on Friday with the top four from each night advancing to Saturday night’s BFW Fashion Finale, where one lucky designer will win the title of the 2015 BFW Emerging Designer and a $1,000 gift card from the Summit. The Fresh Face of BFW With more than 613 models auditioning at the BFW casting call on March 22, 200 models were chosen to represent the fresh faces of Birmingham Fashion Week. One lucky model will be chosen as the Face of Birmingham Fashion Week 2015 and will receive an editorial spread in B-Metro magazine, the opportunity to model for the official BFW 2016 ad, TV appearances promoting BFW 2016, a photo shoot by a nationally ranked photographer, make-up and hair provided by official BFW sponsor AIA, and $1,000 cash from Schaeffer Eye Center. 94
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The BFW Team
Heidi Elnora: Founder Jeana Lee Thompson: Co-Founder William Lacey: Producer Jeremy Stephens: Artistic Director KC Projects: Media & Public Relations
Frequently Asked Questions 1. Where is Birmingham Fashion Week held? Birmingham Fashion Week is held at Pepper Place, which is located at 2829 2nd Ave S, Birmingham, Alabama, 35233.
requirements when ordering tickets so that we can better accommodate your request.
2. Where do I park? Parking for Birmingham Fashion Week is available on 2nd Ave S, 29th St., and in the Martin Biscuit parking lot in front of Cantina.
6. What is the dress code for BFW? Birmingham Fashion Week supports the freedom of fashionable expression. Dress up, dress casually, or wear what you love and rock it. Just remember, there is a lot of press, cameras, and videographers at the show, so you never know when you will be “discovered.”
3. Are children allowed to attend the show? Do I need to purchase them a separate ticket? Children are allowed into the show. Please note, however, that fashion shows target an adult audience and may not be suitable for children. It is at the parent’s discretion to decide whether or not the content is age appropriate. Tickets must be purchased for children ages 3 and up. 4. Is Birmingham Fashion Week handicap accessible? The runway show is handicap accessible; however, the restrooms are not. Please note any special
5. What is your weather policy? Rain or shine, the show will go on.
7. Are pets allowed? Animals are not allowed at Birmingham Fashion Week or any BFW affiliated events. 8. Can I bring my camera? During the show, ticket holders may use their personal cameras/cell phones to take pictures from their seats. Standing in the aisle or in the media areas is prohibited without media credentials.
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