Adam Mayer
The spring edition of Fashion Week MN begins April 28 with a circus-themed Minnstafashion and a new director, fashion blogger and marketing expert Hamdi Mohamed. Co-founders and current team members Jahna Peloquin and Sarah Edwards appointed Mohamed because he has been dedicated to the fashion community since he started modeling at age 16 and has begun to successfully produce Fashion Week MN shows like Tessa Louise’s Local Coterie in September 2018 and the recurring Minnstafashion kick off.
He plans to build on Peloquin’s and Edwards’s mission of growing the community and supporting designers, all while seeking diverse show offerings.
“The way our industry is gonna succeed is not by having just one type of person leading the industry,” Mohamed says. “It’s all about multiple different types of people finding their place in this industry, and that’s what I’m striving to achieve.”
The six-person Fashion Week MN team (which includes Mohamed, Peloquin, and Edwards) selects shows that promote diversity and community involvement. Just as Mohamed espouses that fashion is not only for one type of person, this season proves it.
From above left, clockwise: Hunt + Capture, courtesy Ice Cream Bowties, Inatelight Productions
I Am Fabulous (April 28) is a high-energy event whose models are all over 60 years old to show beauty goes beyond youth. Besides the runway show, guests can also enjoy pop up shopping, mimosas and coffee, and pastries. Later that day, Black American designer Alexis Brazil presents another runway show, Lexurìe, which featuring couture and high-end streetwear with a modern, inclusive standard of beauty. A few days later, preteen entrepreneurs help host a kids’ fashion show (May 4).
Fashion Week MN presents shows that even stretch the boundaries of hair. Fox Den Salon will present a contest pairing top designers and hair stylists to get creative and impress the audience on May 5. Earlier on April 30, another show will display Trippy Stylez’s woven styles and extensions along with art and fashion.
While the fashion community has its style staples, Mohamed loves seeing new designers enter the scene and aims to help shows grow. He says he wants designers to feel successful in the Midwest and have a community to thrive in away from high-fashion capitals like New York City.
“I really want to set us up to be the Midwest industry leader and have a platform for these designers and producers to succeed,” Mohamed says. “I see us becoming more of a support than we already are.”
Get in on the Twin Cities’ fashion community, and click here for a full schedule of events and access to tickets.
