RICHMOND, Va. — The 14th annual RVA Fall Fashion Week kicks off Wednesday. The events highlight local community members and businesses, while also raising money to fight breast cancer.
"We've been preparing for this for the past six, seven months now," explained Jimmy Budd, executive producer of RVA Fashion Week. "I think all the adrenaline is hitting the team right now, so we're very excited going into this."
The week is jam-packed with events showcasing Richmond's fashion and beauty industries.
"I think the first 10 years of building this was just trying to have Richmond understand that there is a major fashion market here, and you can build your business here," Budd noted. "You don't have to move somewhere else."
Wednesday night, a kickoff party will be held at Brun on North Lombardy Street for everyone involved in organizing Fashion Week, and on Thursday, people are invited to come out to a panel on entrepreneurship in the fashion and beauty industry. That panel is being held at the Len on North 17th Street from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday night kicks off the 2nd annual RVA Sneaker Fest, where you’re encouraged to dress your best and throw on a pair of tennis shoes. That will take place both Friday and Saturday at Black Iris.
"I was sitting around just thinking about how big the sneaker culture has become here," said Budd. "And I really wanted to take a focus for Fashion Week to dial in more on like the accessory side, and then tie it into our streetwear fashion shows. So, Sneaker Fest came about, and we're able to support so many local boutiques here in Richmond."
This year's Sneaker Fest will help support Girls for a Change, a nonprofit youth development organization aimed at empowering Black girls in Central Virginia. A few 11th graders in the program will be showcasing a prototype sneaker at the event.
"The vision for really helping Black girls in the community, like especially in the youth side, giving them opportunities that they may not be able to get is life changing," Budd explained.
Sunday's RVAFW Finale Runway Fashion Show will run from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Dominion Energy Center’s Rhythm Hall. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
It's an organization that Nikki Fiveash, RVAFW sponsorship and community partner and breast cancer survivor, says is close to her heart.
"There are women and men going through this really intense time in their life, and I know personally, that when I got diagnosed, the primary treatment that I had didn't exist a couple of years before I got diagnosed," Fiveash explained. "And if it wasn't here, if it didn't get the funding it got, I probably wouldn't be sitting here today."
Click hereto view a full list of RVAFW events and purchase tickets to the finale event.
