Welcome to fashion week. Turns out, we have our own fashion week right here in Charleston. I already covered the infamous New York and Paris Fashion Weeks to an extent in my SS23 article, so let’s narrow our focus to a local level. Founded in 2007, Charleston Fashion Week has biannually brought emerging designers and models from the east coast to light, being one of the premier fashion weeks in North America (shockingly). In fact, CFW is actually very bountiful for our community, bringing in great contributions to our local economy. 

In my time living in Charleston, I have attended two Charleston Fashion Week events. One was in 2020, and the other was last Friday. Fully embracing my Talon journalist occupation, I documented like there was no tomorrow. Here’s the inside scoop on what CFW had to offer, plus, of course, some opinions. I truly believe this to be the inside scoop, as I searched far and wide on the internet for professional documentation of the event, and there was little to none (at least that have been released yet, as far as I know). So, join me, and let’s assess: Is Charleston fashionable, or is Lily Pulitzer and pineapple print all it has to show? 

Note: I will be reviewing the shows that I viewed on Friday. For the full list of brands that showed at Charleston Fashion Week, refer to the bottom of this article. Ok bye enjoy

If you know me, you can probably predict that I really liked this collection by Magnifique. I absolutely adore black and white with a pop of color, ostrich feathers, gloves, and pearl overlays. The business formal meets individuality motif is so appealing to me. My favorite look was the one pictured in the top/middle. I love satin and I love the silhouette and the shoes and the jewels. Overall, I really liked it. There were only 2 looks from the collection I didn’t like (not pictured). One critique I have is the thin line between chic and 2010 Nicki Minaj in the dress pictured to the left (not a bad thing, but the gloves probably didn’t need the studs). I don’t know if Magnifique is responsible for the designs of this collection, as they are a boutique, but props to the designer(s). My mom, however, absolutely hated this collection.

I’m going to start this one off with the brand’s mission, as the brand placed a lot of emphasis on it within the show. Francis+Benedict is a non profit organization, striving to employ and empower skilled seamstresses from Togo. Profits are also used on resources within Togolese communities, assisting projects that help better the livelihoods of citizens in need. American style is married with West African print textiles to dress the modern woman and make a global impact. This was my mom’s favorite show from the night. I don’t love the styles specifically presented here, but that is not to say I dislike the brand if we’re looking solely at aesthetics. I obviously adore the mission, but I also really love a lot of their pieces. I think I just wish that the tan bootie, green print skirt, and glitter top (as pictured in the top right) combo was not included in the show. However, the red, green, and white look is absolutely to die for. I encourage you to check out the brand if you like what you see, or if you don’t, maybe refer it to your mom.

This (I suppose joint) collection by Bella Bridesmaids and Maddison Row South was mostly pretty beautiful, objectively. By “objectively” in this context I mean to say that the styles are predictable – not bad, just predictable. There were a fair share of flops, I admit. The dresses were very pretty, but I wouldn’t say I was wowed by much. But amongst the flops, there was some really good material. The dress pictured to the left is stunning, setting forth a whimsical tone for the collection that remained consistent. To be honest I don’t have much to say; this collection bored me overall. If you’re into predictable wedding vibes you may enjoy the rest of their collection. My mom, though, found her favorite look of the night from this collection, being the blue silk dress pictured in the top right (admittedly, gorgeous). Again, I’m not sure of the designers here, considering these are boutique collections, so it is likely that different designers were showcased characterizing the inconsistencies in the looks. But again, I’m not sure; limited information was available about the designers behind the looks.

When designers make collections, or clothing in general, the first step in the process is to identify who the items are for. That is, who the items will be made in mind with, marketed to, sold to, worn by, and so forth. When I watched this collection all I could think of was the designer during their planning process deciding to make a collection for high society moms who wish to go to Africa for vacation in hopes of seeing cheetah babies on their safari (or for Dan Humphrey, I couldn’t decide). This is not necessarily a bad thing, the look is kind of cute. But it’s particular. My mom did, in fact, love this collection. The model in the bottom middle photo makes me laugh, serving us an attitude that does not correlate with the rest of the looks, but is iconic. Props to the creative director here, as the collection is pretty cohesive overall which I always appreciate. I’m confused why every look in CFW features either a strappy sandal heel or a bootie, though (not specific to this brand, but a general critique). 

We’re coming upon the end of our journey through Charleston Fashion Week, sadly on a bad note (in my opinion, obviously).  This collection was my least favorite of the night, which was upsetting because of my high hopes for the brand based off of their opening message, which I loved: