Final 6 Nashville Fashion Week Designers Announced

Lexus Nashville Fashion Week Announces

Six Final Designers to Show Collections

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (March 9, 2012) — Nashville Fashion Week organizers announce that by SMITH, Wai Ming, G-Star, Red Doll, Kal Rieman and Magid Bernard will all be showcasing their collections at runways shows through the week. With these six designers onboard, the Lexus Nashville Fashion Week line-up is now complete. 

by SMITH — Launched in Spring 2010, by SMITH is a collection of sophisticated, chic apparel for women recognizable for the use of Thai silk, vibrant colors and bold patterns. Smith Sinrod, a graduate of the University of Alabama’s Apparel Design program, is the designer of by SMITH. Honing her skill through stints with set designer Mary Howard, who produced photo shoot sets for iconic fashion magazines such as Vogue, W and Vanity Fair, Sinrod received valuable experience in the workings of the fashion world. After a showing at the Gen Art Miami Fresh Faces in Fashion in 2010, the Miami New Times wrote, “The hit of the show was easily by SMITH. Her designs were whimsical pieces inspired by bygone eras, sort of like Victorian-meets-mod with lots of color.” Last spring, Sinrod moved her business and home to New York from Atlanta. The by SMITH collection will be shown Tuesday, March 20 at Marathon Music Works.

Wai Ming — Emily Brady Koplar is the designer behind the fresh and effortlessly chic line, Wai Ming. Wai Ming is inspired by Emily's multi-cultural background, global travel, and study of art, architecture and street style. Koplar worked at Ralph Lauren while studying in Paris, and later moved to New York where she graduated from Parsons School of Design. She worked at Vivienne Tam, The May Company and Aeropostale while also designing one-of-a-kind, special occasion dresses. She currently divides her time between St. Louis and New York. The Wai Ming line blends uptown refinement and sophistication with a youthful, downtown edge. The focus is on feminine and versatile pieces that take the chic, modern woman from day to night. Wai Ming has a fresh, timeless quality and is crafted with luxe fabrics from Italy, Japan and China. The Wai Ming collection will be shown Wednesday, March 21 at Marathon Music Works. 

G-Star — From its conception in 1989, G-Star has been known for innovative and cutting edge style in the world of denim. The concentration on craftsmanship and innovation continues today, through the evolution of G-Star denim silhouettes and the adoption of architectural 3D design and jean construction. G-Star leads the world of 3D denim with evolution from the articulated knee of the Elwood (5620) to the twisted-leg architecture of the arc pant. Pushing boundaries, continuous experimentation and product development have led to a strong following worldwide. The rough, rudimentary and raw characteristics of the brand allow G-Star to maintain its distinct and unorthodox styles. The G-Star collection will be shown Friday, March 23 at Nashville’s Parthenon in Centennial Park.

Red Doll —Tatyana Merenyuk grew up in the Ukraine. From an early age, she showed a colorful taste for fashion, and her favorite pastime was playing dress-up with her older sister. Merenyuk started designing her first Red Doll collection in 2008, and a year later she was being honored by Gen Art Chicago as one of 2009’s Fresh Faces in Fashion. With abundant positive press and a growing fan base, she decided to move to New York and put her line into production. She went back to visit the city that first gave her career in fashion a start this past fall to participate in Fashion Focus Chicago. The Red Doll collection will be shown Friday, March 23 at Nashville’s Parthenon in Centennial Park.

Kal Rieman — Cleveland native “Cally” Rieman took an unconventional path into the world of fashion, graduating from Denison University with a degree in East Asian Studies and Political Science. Her interest in fashion began during a study program in Taiwan, where she taught English to the owner of a textile manufacturing and marketing company. After graduation, she spent four years working in finance before pursuing a degree in fashion design at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her design career began at Jean Charles de Castelbajac, a prominent French designer of men’s and women’s wear collec- tions. She moved to New York in 2002 as a design assistant for Rubin Chapelle’s women’s wear collection. As a designer for Hilfiger’s H men’s line, she solidified her experience in tailored goods and began to work towards starting her own collection. She has always admired the strength and simplicity of men’s wear and set out to build a collection that achieved that same sophisticated, effortless dressing for women. Her collection launched in 2009 and is currently in its fourth season of distribution. The Kal Rieman line will be shown on Saturday, March 24 at the Pinnacle at Symphony Place.

Magid Bernard — Magid and Michele Bernard make up the luxury fashion house, Magid Bernard. Their love of art, architecture, beauty and design of every kind drives their selection of luxurious European textiles which they craft into timeless designs with a twist. The Magid Bernard label is well known for its attention to clean lines and elegance. The line’s astonishingly engineered bias-cut dresses, French laces, and hand-embroidered fabrics are favorites among an international clientele. Magid Bernard’s showroom and atelier are in the prestigious New Mart Building, in Los Angeles’ Fashion District, where every piece is made under the Bernards’ watchful eye. The Magid Bernard collection will be shown Saturday, March 24 at the Pinnacle at Symphony Place.

ABOUT NASHVILLE FASHION WEEK

Nashville Fashion Week, March 20–24, 2012, is presented by Lexus and sponsored by The Mall at Green Hills, the Hutton Hotel, UAL and Lipman Brothers. Event sponsors for the week include Amstel Light, Big Events, Crown Royal, Fashion Bytes, George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey, Grand Avenue Chauffeured Transportation, Jive Digital Printing, Lotus Energy Drink, Marathon Music Works, MACS|AMAX, Music City Tents & Events, Nashville Event Lighting, OFE, O'More College of Design, Sassy Bitch Wines, Smirnoff, SnapShot Interactive, Taylor Christian Jones Photography, Wondergraphics, and wonderMode.com. Media sponsors are SouthComm (Nashville Scene, NFocus, Her Nashville, The City Paper), Yelp, NowPlayingNashville.com, and Graffiti. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is a community partner.