Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Recipient 2023

NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK ANNOUNCES OUR ELEVENTH NASHVILLE FASHION FORWARD FUND RECIPIENT 

We are excited to announce Rhea Daniels, the founder and creative director of Papierdoll Factory, as the 2023 Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipient. A committee from The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee selected Rhea from a diverse group of experienced fashion industry applicants based on her impressive submission that adhered to specific criteria established by the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund co-founders in 2010. We will honor and celebrate Rhea at an upcoming Nashville Fashion Week community event.

Founded in 2018, Papierdoll Factory is dedicated to blending avant-garde resort wear with cultural consciousness. Rhea's upbringing in Clarksville, Tennessee, amidst the rich diversity of a military town, has profoundly influenced the brand’s ethos. Papierdoll Factory strives to celebrate the world's myriad cultures through high-quality, bespoke designs. 

"I am profoundly honored to be named the recipient of the 2023 Nashville Fashion Forward Fund. This grant empowers us to further our mission of style and inclusivity by focusing on professional development, securing federal contracts, and establishing international trade. We aim to expand our presence within the American Armed Forces Exchange Service, bringing our unique fashion solutions to military communities worldwide. This opportunity is not just a milestone for Papierdoll Factory but a step towards a more interconnected and stylish world." – Rhea Daniels, Founder and Creative Director of Papierdoll Factory

Receiving the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund is a milestone for the brand's journey to elevate global fashion standards. Papierdoll Factory believes in "Style Without Borders" and is passionate about creating fashion that empowers and inspires. Initiatives like Minerva's Closet—a program sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Nashville Alumnae Chapter—provide no-cost prom shopping experiences for underprivileged teens, showcasing the brand's commitment to community empowerment. Papierdoll Factory is also actively involved and dedicated to the vibrant local fashion scene in both Nashville and Atlanta.

Rhea also serves as a Presidential Donor and Executive Member of the Tennessee State University National Alumni Association, actively contributing to the university's growth and success. Her leadership and vision continue to drive Papierdoll Factory forward, making every piece a celebration of diversity and style.

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is an endowed fund that supports the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing an annual financial award and resources for experiential professional development opportunities to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field based on pre-established criteria.

“At its core, Nashville Fashion Week has always been about supporting the people who bring fashion to life. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Award has recognized and celebrated the creative aspirations of fashion industry professionals for more than a decade with financial support to go, do, learn as part of their creative journey."  - Amy Fair, Senior Director of Philanthropic Partnerships, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Connie Cathcart-Richardson, Mclaine Richardson, Rhea Daniels and Marcia Masulla at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts Alexander McQueen Media Preview

"As the fashion and creative economy in Nashville evolves, our vision and mission continue to be focused on creating lasting impact in the ecosystem for the fashion community. Rhea's big picture strategy for her business is both inspiring and a worthy investment for The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund. We are excited to work with Rhea and others in the community on forging a new and fruitful path forward." - Marcia Masulla, Managing Director & Co-Founder + Connie Cathcart-Richardson, Co-Founder, Nashville Fashion Week | Nashville Fashion Forward Fund

Previous Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipients include apparel designers Haley Maddox, Van Hoang, Maria Silver, Eric Bornhop, Lauren Leonard Phelps and Julianna Bass Brea; manufacturer Megan Prange, fashion photographer Brett Warren; accessory designer Ceri Hoover; and Elise Joseph, brand strategist and creative director.

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee that is funded with charitable donations and proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund was inspired by the professional development provided by the Council of Fashion Designers (CFDA) through programs such as the CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund ensures that Nashville Fashion Week is not just a single high-profile event to celebrate creativity, but also an ongoing, sustainable focus for philanthropic support of our community for many years to come.

Tenth NFFF Recipient: Haley Maddox 2022

NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK ANNOUNCES
THE TENTH NASHVILLE FASHION FORWARD FUND RECIPIENT 

We are excited to announce Haley Maddox, co-owner and designer of MaddLove Bridal as our 2022 Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipient. A committee from The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee selected Haley from a diverse group of experienced fashion industry applicants based on specific criteria set by the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund co-founders. We will honor and celebrate Haley during our April 2023 festivities.

Haley Maddox has been working in Nashville since 2017 after studying fashion design at The Art Institute of Indianapolis and several internships in the bridal industry. She has worked as a production manager for Olia Zavozina and most recently at Workwear Outfitters where she was involved in fabric development, technical design and merchandising, to gain experience in all areas of the fashion business before pursing her dream of building her own brand.

“I feel so honored to be this year’s recipient of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund. My plan is  to attend the Global Fashion Summit where I will soak up every bit of knowledge about sustainability I can get. I think there is a sense of responsibility for all of us in the fashion industry to understand how we harm our planet. It is important to me that my line uses new awareness and innovation to ensure I remain intentional with my environmental impact. That is why I am so excited for this opportunity to learn and grow!” - Haley Maddox, MaddLove Bridal

Haley has always aspired to have her own line and is in the process of launching MaddLove, a new-age bridal line, in 2023 with Adrienne Love. Adrienne is the owner of The Wedding Studio, the bridal boutique that Haley interned at during college that first sparked her love for the bridal industry. Adrienne currently has four store locations in Indiana and Kentucky with plans to expand to Nashville. What was once a lofty idea between a new bridal boutique owner and her bright-eyed intern is now becoming reality. They are combining the skills of a successful entrepreneur and the industry knowledge of a creative designer to create MaddLove, which is a play on their last names; Maddox and Love. 

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is an endowed fund that supports the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing an annual financial award and resources for experiential professional development opportunities to advance the career of select local talent with demonstrated experience in a fashion-related field based on pre-established criteria.

“The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Award represents an investment in the creative and inspired individuals looking to expand the perspectives that will contribute to their personal growth and the growth of their role in the fashion industry. Haley joins a terrific and ever growing list of talented individuals who’ve put their vision to paper for a compelling experience that inspired the Award selection panel.”  - Amy Fair, Vice President of Donor Services, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Previous Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipients include manufacturer Megan Prange, apparel designers Van Hoang, Maria Silver, Eric Bornhop, Lauren Leonard Phelps and Julianna Bass; fashion photographer Brett Warren; accessory designer Ceri Hoover; and Elise Joseph, brand strategist and creative director.

The establishment of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund in 2010 by the co-founders of Nashville Fashion Week was inspired by the professional development provided by the Council of Fashion Designers (CFDA) through programs such as the CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee that is funded with charitable donations and proceeds from Nashville Fashion Week. The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund ensures that Nashville Fashion Week is not just a signature high-profile event to celebrate creativity, but also an ongoing, sustainable focus for philanthropic support of our community.

Nashville Fashion is Moving Forward

BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM:
NASHVILLE FASHION IS MOVING FORWARD

It's been a very productive few weeks. Last week, Nashville Fashion Week hosted and collaborated with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) President, CaSandra Diggs and CFDA Connects Consulting Director Elliot Carlyle to align and build the foundation for a viable fashion industry ecosystem in Middle Tennessee.

Nashville Fashion Week has invested over $1.4 million into Nashville's fashion community over the past twelve years. This was accomplished with the heart and hustle of an all-volunteer led and run organization that has relied solely on sponsors and ticket sales to produce events and activations while providing experiential opportunities to nine Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipients through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Fashion is one of the most influential drivers of culture, a beloved art and entertainment form, but we have not taken advantage of the fact that it is also one of the largest economic forces in the world. Now is the time for Nashville to change that.

The Nashville Fashion Week team, including new Nashville Fashion Forward leadership team member David Fischette of Go West Creative, invited and met with a curated group of community leaders, elected officials and organizations at W Nashville on Wednesday, May 4. The focus of the event was to present a proposed new direction for Nashville Fashion Week and to lobby for the Nashville fashion industry securing resources and financial support to build the foundation for a fashion industry ecosystem.

The following community and industry leaders attended the event with commitments to continue the conversation on how to support moving Nashville fashion forward. The individuals highlighted below in pink made statements to the group in support of the mission of moving Nashville fashion forward:

Office of Mayor John Cooper
- Courtney Pogue - Director of Economic & Community Development
- Mrs. Laura Fitzgerald-Cooper

Metro Nashville Council Members
- Kyonzte Toombs, District 2
- Jeff Syracuse, District 15
- Freddie O’Connell, District 19
- Joy Styles, District 32

Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation
- Heather Middleton, SR Vice President Of Marketing

Nashville Chamber of Commerce
- Hannah Holmes, Manager of Member Value
- Victoria Quigley, Director of Small Business Growth

Supermodel, Entrepreneur, Artist, & Activist
- Karen Elson
- Bonnie Dee Bowden - Karen Elson, Inc.

Launch TN
- Ashley Currie, Marketing & Communications Director

BrainTrust
- Sherry Deutschmann, Founder & CEO

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
- Amy Fair, Vice President of Donor Services

OJAS Partners
- Lizzy LeBleu, Real Estate Advisor

oneC1TY
- Caitlin Arnold, Marketing & Development

Middle Tennessee State University
- Rick Cottle, Associate Professor of Fashion & Apparel
- David Foster, Director of Marketing & Communications

Vanderbilt University
Deanna Meador, Director of Entrepreneurship, Wond’ry - Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center

Go West Creative
- David Fischette, CEO & Chief Creative

Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Recipients
- Megan Prange, Prange Apparel (2019)
- Maria Silver, Black by Maria Silver (2017)

Nashville Lifestyles
- Alison Abbey, Editor In Chief
- Brian Barry, Publisher

Tennessean
- Sherah Ndjongo - Business Reporter

In addition, both Kelly Helfman, Commercial President of Informa Markets Fashion - Organizers of MAGIC, and Fern Mallis, the creator and founder of New York Fashion Week and long-time Nashville Fashion Week advisor, shared their support through written statements. MAGIC Fashion Events also made a significant monetary contribution to support the vision of moving Nashville fashion forward. The gathering was a pivotal moment for the future of Nashville Fashion Week and for Nashville's fashion industry. Followup meetings and planning are in the works. The Nashville Fashion Week email list will receive updates as progress ensues.

View photos from the Meeting HERE.

The conversation was continued at an in-person fundraising event and live stream recording of Moving Fashion Forward - A Conversation with NFW + CFDA featuring CFDA President, CaSandra Diggs and NFW Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Marcia Masulla on Thursday, May 5. The interactive and engaging program included a dynamic customized Nashville Fashion Week branded set with high-level professional production presented in partnership with Go West Creative. Guests also enjoyed savory bites from The Pink Hermit of The Hermitage Hotel and refreshments from Tito's Handmade Vodka and Love & Exile Wines while they mingled prior to the recorded conversation.

Screen the conversation from your laptop or mobile device at NashvilleFashionWeek.com.

View photos from the Conversation HERE.

Thank you for your continued support and feedback as we plan to make an impact for the future of fashion in Nashville together. Stay tuned! #WHYNFW

Shop Nashville Pop Up Market at oneC1TY on Saturday!

TWO DAYS LEFT FOR NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK 2021

Day four of Nashville Fashion Week is here and we are in high gear. 

Our Digital Designer Runway Program is LIVE on the global Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Runway 360 digital platform, our SOLD OUT Learning Labs are in full swing and The Intersection of Sound + Style: A Conversation + Museum Tour presented by the National Museum of African American Music is tonight. A very limited number of tickets are still available for this special engagement. Visit NashvilleFashionWeek.com to reserve your tickets. Once the tickets are gone...they are gone!

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TOMORROW: SHOP NASHVILLE AT ONEC1TY

Nashville Fashion Week has hosted Shop Nashville, a city-wide celebration designed to encourage and support the Nashville retail community with creative and interactive ways to support our Nashville businesses, since our inception in 2011. While our runway format puts the focus on apparel creators, for this year we have created an opportunity for Middle Tennessee’s creative maker and retail community as well. Eight NFW designers and a diverse selection of twenty-two other fashion-related vendors will showcase their brands at the first Shop Nashville Pop Up Market presented by oneC1TY on Saturday, October 16 from 12 - 4 p.m. 

10% of all vendor sales will be donated to the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to show their support for our local fashion community. 

Enjoy the outdoor shopping experience with refreshments provided by Tito's Handmade Vodka and Blade and Bow from Kindred Bar Catering while enjoying the tunes of DJ Maggie Wells. Please click the ticket link above to register for this event so that we can plan our refreshments accordingly.

oneC1TY is a collection of residents, visitors, workplace innovators, fitness instructors and culinary artists gathered on 19 acres in West Nashville to bring about a new way of life – one that is focused on the enjoyment of health, wellness and physical activity. Our mission is to make mindful, healthy living, easy … please join us at oneC1TY to learn more!

2021 SHOP NASHVILLE POP UP MARKET VENDORS:

Visit NashvilleFashionWeek.com for full details on all of these events and links to each vendor's website. Please make plans to shop and support all of these vendors next week. Our independent businesses need us now more than ever!

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You can view all of our designer runway shows, lookbooks and even shop their collections for FREE, but we encourage you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation of $20, or more if you can, to the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Your contribution will help underwrite all of the work and resources put into our digital programming and support our Nashville fashion community for years to come. 

The future of Nashville Fashion Week depends on it.

Thank you!

Nashville Fashion Week Kicks Off Today! Why Your $20 Matters...

NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK 2021 IS HERE

Please Donate $20 To Support
The Nashville Fashion Week Runway Shows + Nashville Fashion Forward Fund

DID YOU KNOW?

The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is an endowed fund that supports the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee by providing a financial award and resources for experential professional development opportunities through an application process each year. Nashville Fashion Week has invested more than $1.3 million into our community since 2011 to provide an annual opportunity for our community to celebrate and showcase local creative talent while providing financial awards to nine Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipients. Funds are raised through Nashville Fashion Week, our annual five-day volunteer-led and run event, to spotlight Nashville's growing fashion community with an ongoing, sustainable focus for philanthropic support of our creative community through the generosity and support of donors, sponsors and ticket sales with all proceeds benefiting the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund.

WHY DO WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT NOW?

The devastating tornado and pandemic cancelled Nashville Fashion Week just two weeks before we were to celebrate our 10 year anniversary that featured over 100 community events. When our team came to the difficult conclusion that we still wouldn't be able to safely gather in August of 2020, we planned and executed NFW Digital Experience which garnered 6,874 unique viewers with 132,360 impressions. This was an alternative way to showcase all nineteen Middle Tennessee designers who had originally planned to showcase their runway collections in April. We also realized the residual hurdles that had impacted our fashion community. Despite having no revenue stream or opportunity to sell tickets since April of 2019, Nashville Fashion Week issued each 2020 designer a $500 gift from the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund to help them weather the challenging times, but most importantly, we wanted to remind them to keep going.

HOW DID WE REIMAGINE NFW 2021?

As you know, Covid-19 surged again in the Spring of 2021 which is when we annually celebrate Nashville Fashion Week, but by early summer things were looking up. We felt the weight of the Nashville fashion community - Two years was way too long for our community to be apart, so we knew it was vital to IMAGINE safe ways to showcase and support our fashion community this fall.

Designers who previously applied and were selected to participate their collections at NFW 2020 but were unable to present their collections on the runway due to our pivot to digital programming in 2020 were invited back to participate in NFW 2021. This week, fifteen Middle Tennessee designers will be given an innovative platform to present their collections and brands to a global audience. As part of NFW's new membership to the CFDA Connects inaugural program, our 2021 designer runway collections will launch digitally launch this week, first for VIP Pass holders and later in the week at no charge to the public. This access will include streaming their runway presentation, viewing their collection, lookbook and with the ability to shop their collection on CFDA's Runway360 website.

THE REALITY?

The runway presentations were safely and professionally filmed a closed set last month at OZ Arts Nashville by Middle Tennessee State University’s Marketing and Communications team with production design by Bright Event Productions. The amount of resources, time and dedicated individuals that have contributed efforts to producing the digital programming is astounding. Nashville Fashion Week would not exist, let alone, produce events and activate programming without these vital people and community partners.

FULL TRANSPARENCY 

REGARDLESS OF HOW STRONG OUR PARTNERSHIPS ARE OR HOW CREATIVE WE CAN GET WITH RESOURCES AND EFFICIENCIES, WE STILL NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO ENSURE THAT NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK KEEPS GOING.

Nashville Fashion Week 2021 has been re-imagined this fall to safely explore, test and shape the future of Nashville fashion in a meaningful way through strategic partnerships and collaborations with both local and global industry leaders. We look forward to connecting with you this week for an engaging schedule of both digital and live programming.

Nashville Fashion Week needs your financial support and encouragement to continue doing what we do year after year. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation of $20, or more if you can, to further the mission of the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund. Every dollar you give will make a difference within our community for years to come. This is #whynfw! 

Thank you for your support! 

Team NFW

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NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK KICKS OFF TODAY!

Nashville Fashion Week IMAGINE 2021 kicks off this afternoon with a special VIP Tour at Prange Apparel followed by two more VIP events at The Westin Nashville and the Suiting the Sound: The Rodeo Tailors Who Made Country Stars Shine Brighter panel discussion and tour at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum tomorrow. It's not too late to get in on all of these events and experiences. Purchase your VIP Pass NOW!  

Join NFW for three FREE Learning Labs, The Intersection of Sound + Style: A Conversation + Museum Tour presented by the National Museum of African American Music and the Shop Nashville Pop Up Market at oneC!TY. A limited number of VIP Passes and tickets to Friday's National Museum of African American Music event are the only tickets available for purchase this year ($35).. All other events are FREE or are included in the VIP Pass..

Our entirely re-imagined schedule is HERE for you to conveniently access. Available tickets to official NFW events can still be obtained at NashvilleFashionWeek.com, but they're going fast!

DAY 1 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12 

Suiting the Sound: The Rodeo Tailors Who Made Country Stars Shine Brighter Panel Discussion 

October 12, 2021, 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m. for gallery access)
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum 
222 Rep. John Lewis Way Sout

Drawing from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's exhibit galleries and extensive collection of stage costumes and archival materials, Suiting the Sound: The Rodeo Tailors Who Made Country Stars Shine Brighter — an exhibition curated exclusively for online audiences and free-to-access HERE — examines the dazzling artistry of Western-wear designers whose couture fashions helped to create an indelible image for country music. In partnership with Nashville Fashion Week, the museum will host a program examining the emergence of this unique “rhinestone cowboy” look in the 1940s and 1950s, largely from the tailor shops of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and how the style has inspired fashion far beyond the stages of barn dances and honky-tonks.

Panelists include acclaimed author, historian and filmmaker Holly George-Warren (How the West Was Worn, Public Cowboy #1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry, Janis: Her Life and Music); modern-day “rodeo tailor” Jerry Lee Atwood, whose bespoke designs for his Union Western label have been commissioned by performers as varied as Americana artist Nikki Lane, Post Malone and genre-blending “Old Town Road” writer-performer, Lil Nas X; and singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Scruggs, who currently plays bass in Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives band and fronts his own group, the Stone Fox Five. The panel will be moderated by Brenda Colladay, vice president of museum services at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Free program access at CountryMusicHallofFame.org, and the museum’s YouTube and Facebook. Limited program tickets are still available with museum admission HERE and are also included in the NFW VIP Pass or click the big pink button above to watch the live stream on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for FREE.