New Orleans Fashion Week 2023

Glitz, glam, and grandiose—New Orleans Fashion Week has it all! The event has occurred annually since its inception in 2011, except for a brief lapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to New Orleans Fashion Week (NOFW)'s founder and creative director, Tracee Dundas, fashion week serves to provide a platform for designers to showcase their collections. She says, “Many designers don't have a brick-and-mortar storefront, so this gives them a chance to put their brands in front of an audience—not only an audience of fashion influencers but also local buyers who may have an interest in adding their clothes to their retail store.” Fashion week not only assists designers in growing their brands but also serves various other purposes for the broader fashion community.

Before founding fashion week, Tracee Dundas started one of the strongest modeling agencies in the Gulf Coast region, ABOUTFACES Model & Talent Management. “When I tell my story, I say that I live and breathe fashion.” She has truly pioneered major platforms for fashion expression in the city of New Orleans. In addition to uniting fashion professionals and being advantageous for designers, the events she organizes throughout New Orleans Fashion Week draw a crowd of fashion fans, runway models, stylists, and makeup artists each year to celebrate the industry. This year's fashion week fell on September 19th through 23rd and drew a crowd of about 1700 attendees. The week featured events including nightly fashion shows and two major runway showcases.

Fashion week kicked off that Tuesday with a party at the Virgin Hotels themed ‘pink is the new black.' There was a fashion showcase featuring designs by New Orleans-based vintage curator and stylist Bambi Deville. Mrs. Deville has participated in New Orleans Fashion Week for four years and has been the only vintage store invited to participate. She has developed a curated collection of vintage, which she began sourcing at the young age of 12. The showcase included beautiful, classy, and vibrant vintage pieces. Her favorite era of fashion is the 1940s, and in fact, Bambi's inspiration has always been her grandmother's beautiful pieces from the 1940s. For other designers, Mrs. Deville advises them to stay true to themselves: “It is your individuality, your individual style that is going to set you apart.”

The featured event of day two was Trashion, a sustainable fashion show displaying the work of 15 designers at the historical Degas House. Designs were incredibly eclectic and made use of a variety of materials to promote a more sustainable approach to fashion design. Some of the most eccentric designs included a dress made entirely of Polaroid pictures, a skirt made of plastic rings used in multi-pack beverages like Gatorade, and an all-denim look, including a wig made entirely of recycled denim scraps. On Thursday, fashion fans convened at the Solari Orleans for an event, Fashion to Remember, presented by Victoria's Indigo Boutique. It included a fashion show and silent auction.

All of these mini-events led up to the major runway showcases, which took place on the final two nights of fashion week, Friday and Saturday. The events occurred at Gallier Hall, and across those two nights, 26 designers were featured. One of those designers was Breana Monét, a young designer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, whose pieces were featured in Friday night's runway show. Breana's designs could be described as streetwear but with “elements or details to elevate the look.” Like most designers, Breana is equipped with lots of savvy fashion advice, but her favorite tip regards fashion as a powerful form of self-expression. “Fashion is really a big way to get in touch with yourself. And I think a lot of people downplay that.” Coming from a southern town, Breana witnessed those around her struggling with self-expression through style, as many people shy away from 'dressing up' out of fear of judgment from others. Breana emphasized, “at the end of the day, you're making yourself happy [with your clothing]... that's something for yourself.” Her biggest piece of advice is, “if you want to dress up, even just to go to the grocery store, do it because that's something to make you feel confident and make you feel good.”

Designers, like all artists, have unique and individualized creative processes. When Breana finds inspiration, she starts with a sketch. Her pieces develop from there, and for Breana, what's most rewarding about designing is helping her clients feel confident. “I want to design stuff that everyone feels confident in and have at least a silhouette for every body type. I want people to feel good in the clothes they have on.” During fittings, as models try on the garments for the first time, Breana finds reassurance in the reactions of her models. “It is a huge reassurance for me when I see the excitement from the models… I feel like I'm doing something right.” Models also revel in this confidence. NOFW runway model Abigayle Lewis said that becoming a model has allowed her to discover her individuality and to feel more confident in her skin. “My favorite part [about modeling] is being able to express yourself on the runway and be confident enough to rock whatever you're given.”

For any aspiring designers, Breana suggests to “stay true to yourself when it comes to designs, especially if you're just starting off.” The process of establishing your signature look can be discouraging, but it is important to stay determined. To help kick off her career, she used New Orleans Fashion Week as an opportunity to network, showcase her looks, and receive feedback on her designs. Breana hopes to launch her own brand in the near future.

Beyond the designs, what exactly does it take to put together a fashion show? Lots of collaboration! From the designers who create the brilliant garments to the models who showcase these pieces on the catwalk. When it comes to the runway, there are lots of moving parts, and each role is as crucial as the next. Many of the models emphasized the power of this community. Taylor Collins walked her first New Orleans Fashion Week this year, and her favorite part was “being able to connect with so many creative people from different facets of the industry!” Similarly, model Shyla Vangeline said, “my favorite part has to be the community. Meeting and getting to know all of the beautiful souls in the industry is so rewarding and encouraging.” Fashion week truly is all about community. As Shyla concluded, “It's true when they say ‘you can go farther, together.’''

Members of this fashion community weighed in on their favorite pieces of fashion advice, and most shared similar tips. There was a general consensus that the best way to do fashion is to be uniquely you. Mrs. Tracee Dundas said, “My favorite piece of fashion advice is to just be you. Don't let the trends dictate or navigate you completely. You don't want to be cookie-cutter; you always want to do something that's going to stand out and let your personality shine through your clothes and in your fashion.” And model Taylor advised to “Find your personal style and don't feel obligated to follow the trends.” She emphasized that, “The best outfits come from bursts of creativity.”

For Mrs. Dundas, the most rewarding part about hosting fashion week is seeing the impact it has. “The collaborations and partnerships that do happen as a result solidify that all this hard work was so very worth it.”

All photos were taken at the runway shows and behind-the-scenes by Camille Buckner.