Nashville Fashion Week: What you need to know

Local fashion weeks are a bona fide Southern-fried trend. From Charlotte, N.C., to Birmingham, Ala., to Charleston, S.C., local communities are rallying behind the concept that fashion shows are not just for jetsetters bound for New York, Milan or Paris.

Like nearly everything else, from food to shopping, suddenly local is the name of the game.

In its fourth year, Nashville Fashion Week offers a five-night fashion fest with runway shows, industry insider panels, after-parties and a swanky gala aimed at showcasing our fashion gene pool.

No, you won't spot Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue who famously sits in the front row at major New York Fashion Week shows. But you may see local artists, designers and country music celebs and a heaping helping of talent and great fashion.

Nashville Fashion Week launches Tuesday at The Rosewall, 1120 McGavock Pike, with eight different designers representing local fashion weeks around the South. Opening and closing the show are local designers Elizabeth Suzanne and Black by Maria Silver, respectively. Ticket price is $50. Wednesday night, a sold-out event, features nine emerging designers and closes with the 2013 Fashion Forward Fund winner Lauren Leonard and her line, Leona. The Fashion Forward Gala, a new event for NFW, is slated for Thursday at OZ. The night will include cocktails in the Zen garden, pop-up performances by the Metro Arts Commission, a seated dinner and guest speaker Fern Mallis. Mallis is credited with launching Fashion Week in New York City in 1993 while serving as the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She will discuss supporting the local fashion industry. While the gala is not your typical fashion show, it will still feature great must-see clothing since most attendees will 'wear long gowns or crazy fashion they can't get away with any other time,' according to event co-founder Connie Cathcart-Richardson. Ticket price is $150. Three galleries, three cocktail parties and models marching down the center of Fifth Avenue in downtown Nashville make up the evening schedule for Friday night. With Fifth Avenue of the Arts galleries showcasing artistic works inspired by fashion, the evening is a nod to this year's theme, 'Fashion as Art.' Ticket price is $75. Saturday offers two events, with a daytime industry panel featuring Johanna Stout, professional development manager of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and other fashion industry insiders. Topics include New Content Commandments of Fashion and Technology and Sustaining the Fashion Industry in Nashville. Ticket price, including box lunch, is $25. That night's runway show at Marathon Music Works features six designers, including Johnathan Kayne and menswear line Rodd & Gunn. The ticket price is $75. For ticket information, visit http://ift.tt/1cV0UY1.

A model wears a creation by Steven Oo during a past Nashville Fashion Week show at The Pinnacle.(Photo: John Partipilo / File / The Tennessean)

Nashville Fashion Week co-founder Connie Cathcart-Richardson talks about the evolution of local fashion week, how she stays sane backstage and what she will be wearing.

What is new and exciting in the world of Nashville Fashion Week?

The gala is going to be huge. Not only is it a big old party with a lot of fashion to see and be seen going on, but we really drill down on why fashion, shopping local and celebrating Nashville is important. The shows are fun, but this is the night we talk about why we do what we do. Which is a good thing for me to remember right now, because I am exhausted!

How do you stay sane during the five days and nights that make up NFW?

Great support from a lot of dedicated volunteers, friends and family. And knowing that Nashville Fashion Week just keeps getting better and better. And promising myself that I am going to sleep for a week when it is over.

What are you wearing to the shows?

I have no idea. I will probably be knocking on the door at UAL on Monday night begging them to let me in to shop last minute. But it really is the one week out of the year that you can play dress-up and have fun with fashion if you want.