Nashville Fashion Week, the city’s longest-running fashion industry event, announced today that iconic fashion designer Anna Sui and New York Fashion Week Founder Fern Mallis will be featured guests during the 2018 program taking place Friday, April 6 at Union Station Hotel and on Saturday, April 7 at OZ Arts Nashville.

“We are incredibly honored to be hosting both Fern Mallis and Anna Sui as part of our 2018 program,” said Nashville Fashion Week managing directors and co-founders Marcia Masulla and Connie Cathcart-Richardson. “To have Anna Sui participate in such a meaningful way is tremendous gift to our community especially with her thoughtful ties to both Third Man Records where she designed the uniforms, shares Detroit roots with Jack White and has worked with Nashville’s very own supermodel, Karen Elson, who has been a staple on Sui’s NYFW runways and the muse for her recent collaboration with Macy’s I.N.C. collection. We are also thrilled to reunite and host Fern for her third Nashville Fashion Week. She has been an unwavering mentor of our mission, the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund and has also led the charge to bring Sui to our city.”

Kicking off the weekend will be NFW Fashion Talks with Fern Mallis and Anna Sui taking place at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 6 at Union Station Hotel. Sponsored by Union Station Hotel and UAL, the event will include a VIP reception where patrons will have the opportunity to meet and receive a signed copy of Mallis’ book Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis. Following the reception, Sui and Mallis will take the stage at 4 p.m. to share insights and personal stories of their expansive experiences in the fashion industry for the main program. Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Textiles, Merchandising and Design will live-stream the conversation during the event and individual copies of Mallis' book will also be available for sale. 

“I’m thrilled to be back at Nashville Fashion Week to see the talented designers along with our special guest, designer Anna Sui, from New York,” said Mallis. “Nashville continues to be one of the coolest cities in the country, inspiring us all with music, food, and style." 

Hailed as the award-winning creator of New York Fashion Week, Mallis has been called an industry titan, doyenne, and The Godmother of Fashion. As the creator and host of premiere conversation series Fashion Icons w/Fern Mallis at New York’s prestigious 92nd Street Y, Mallis assembled an incredible roster of guests for her now signature in-depth interviews, including Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Diane von Fürstenberg, Polly Mellen, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, André Leon Talley, Bruce Weber, Bill Cunningham, Valentino, Leonard A. Lauder, Tim Gunn, Victoria Beckham, Rosita and Angela Missoni, Alexander Wang, and Christian Louboutin.

The Nashville Fashion Week Finale Runway Show will showcase Anna Sui’s 2018 spring collection on Saturday, April 7 at OZ Arts Nashville. Internationally recognized and beloved by the world’s most influential people, the career of Sui is a classic American success story. With over 50 boutiques in eight countries and her collection is sold in 300 stores in over 30 countries, Sui opened her first flagship store on Greene Street in Soho in 1992. The boutique’s vibrant mix of black Victorian furniture, purple walls, papier-mache doll heads and rock n’ roll posters closely reflects Anna Sui’s decorating style and has been the model for all of her shops. The late 1990s was a time of significant growth for Sui; she embarked upon a hugely successful expansion in the Far East, where she quickly established a huge cult following. She also launched cosmetics, fragrance, shoe and accessory licenses. Her devotion to detail is apparent in every one of her products, which are all intimately connected to her world. Her iconic make-up packaging and fragrance bottle design have even become collectors’ items. This special opportunity is sponsored by the Westin Nashville.

“I’ve been wanting to visit Nashville for a quite some time…legendary home of Country Western Music, the Grand Ole Opry, Hot Chicken, and Manuel: Tailor to the Stars!," said Sui. "In recent years, I’ve been hearing so much about exciting things happening in Nashville.  Many people I know have moved there to take part in the evolving super cool Music Scene.  I’m totally excited to discover it all for myself first-hand…and to present my Spring 2018 runway collection!”

American menswear brands Hickey Freeman Tailors Gold and h American Tailor, both presented by Levy's, will open the Saturday night runway show. 

“As a supporter of Nashville Fashion Week from the very beginning, Levy's is thrilled to be partnering with Hickey Freeman and h for the final evening of runway shows during Nashville Fashion Week 2018,” said Levy’s owners David and Ellen Levy. “Featuring the iconic brand, Hickey Freeman, and the company's rising star of fashion, h American Tailor, it gives us great pleasure to present these two collections made in the USA. Timeless and fashion-forward, just like this great city of Nashville, these collections are a perfect representation of Levy's.” 

Nashville Fashion Week will be held April 3-7 in partnership with OZ Arts Nashville with all proceeds benefiting the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tickets to these two experiences and other individual events are available at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.

Graphic via Chicmi