Everyone's beautiful at Chattanooga Fashion Week
Confession: ever since I was an awkward kid in knee socks and pigtails, I’ve been a little worried about fashion. The arts of clothing and styling seemed to me like: 1) Something everyone else was good at; 2) Something I was bad at; and 3) Something I should be doing but wasn’t.
Yep, I was Velma.
So when I met with Kenya Iman, independent personal fashion stylist, I was feeling a little intimidated.
But everything was all right from her first warm smile. Just like a painter or pianist, Kenya is an artist, and her canvass is the human body. Fashion, she explained to me, isn’t about conforming to a trend—it’s about individual expression.
“Fashion is art in so many levels,” she says. “The first is addressing the human body and figure. Humans are art! To be able to clothe art with art is just incredibly fascinating to me because the way that you dress each person is so specific to that person. A true stylist does not style based on trends…a true stylist styles based on who you are, what message you want to tell the world, where you are going in life. On top of that, she shapes and sculpts the body, emphasizing the best parts and minimizing what you don’t want people to see so you can feel truly yourself. That is a powerful thing!”
For fashion week, Kenya is collaborating with Gage Models & Talent Agency. She styled their Knoxville Fashion Week as a college student, and stayed on to take a leadership role at Chattanooga Fashion Week. She assembles talent in makeup, hair, modeling, and photography, and she works with boutique owners who want to display their wares. It’s a busy time and involves numerous artists and vendors across a wide spectrum of talent.
A newcomer to Fashion Week will find a lot to enjoy.
“Each night is different,” says Jaime Hemsley, president of Gage Models & Talent Agency and producer of Chattanooga and Knoxville Fashion Week. “From the Tuesday, May 28 kickoff with an eclectic mix of designer/boutiques to the Thursday runway focusing on hair and makeup [to] the Friday Finale event and largest show.”
Eventgoers can enjoy off-the-chain makeup and styling while checking out what local boutiques have to offer, all in an atmosphere of fun.
“Most importantly, it’s a look at the fashion arts in the community and a chance for those who love to design/shop/style and model to get out there in the spotlight and show us what they love,” Jaime says. “[It’s] their ‘walking art’ presented in a fun and supportive atmosphere with photos/images for future advertising and branding purposes to help the small business or upstart line.”
The event looks to be big—Jaime anticipates 200 participants, including models and artists. Vendor tables will allow the public to buy on the spot, but the real focus each evening is the runway show.
Wednesday night’s show is the charity spotlight focusing on autism.
“Autism is the cause closest to our heart,” Jaime says. “We always like to highlight a community charity that assists those with special needs. This isn’t a runway event night, but a nod to Fashion for a Cause, that we do what we love while acknowledging and giving back to the community.”
Fashion Week sounds like a lot of fun, not just for fashionistas, but for art enthusiasts who want to expand their ideas about what constitutes art. As Kenya describes it, Fashion Week is almost like a weeklong gallery crawl—but with the art walking around on human bodies!
“A newcomer can probably expect lots of energy, lots of music, lots of creativity and high energy,” she says. “It’s fun to see other people’s art through their lens. There are just tons of creativity and art across the board, whether hair, makeup…in addition to the clothes, it’s all a form of art. To see them merged together is super fun!”
Chattanooga Fashion Week will kick off on Tuesday, May 28 with a runway preview and party at The Camp House at 6 p.m. Events are scheduled throughout the week, with the Friday Finale taking place on March 31 at the Granfalloon at 6 p.m.
For tickets and full listing of events, visit chattanoogafashionweek.com. If you want to be involved directly, reach out to Kenya Iman at style@kenyaiman.com or click the “Get Involved” tab at chattanoogafashionweek.com. Local stylists, makeup artists, designers, boutiques, and other venders are encouraged to participate.