Elizabeth Sharp | Staff Writer
Pittsburgh Fashion Week (PGH- FW), a combination of fashion and the arts from the city’s top designers and artists, is taking place this year in a new form due to the ongoing global pandemic.
The festival will take place from Monday, Sept. 21 through Friday, Sept. 25. Fashion Week will be taking place fully online with different events each day including short films and podcasts.
This combination of fashion and the arts will be displayed using innovative methods as this year the Pittsburgh Fashion Week Film Festival premieres for the first time in conjunction with PGHFW.
In addition to the film festival, each morning starts with a podcast related to the fashion industry followed by video premieres in the afternoon and evening, as well as panel discussions being conducted throughout the week. Many of the videos include run- way shows from years past and music performances from local artists.
This virtual event will help many designers and artists to get their names and work out into the world as PGH- FW partners with multiple other fashion weeks across the country in cities such as Nashville, Columbus and Baltimore. The goal is to promote growing fashion communities in each city and
create a larger network for displaying fashion and film.This interconnectedness between cities helps designers reach multiple markets.
John Valentine, executive director at Downtown Community Development Corporation, opened the week with a discussion video preceding the first event being aired.
“Pittsburgh has a great fashion community…it’s all about the great designers and great people who are involved in fashion,” Valentine said. Pittsburgh continues to grow amongst the fashion industry.
Given that the pandemic is still in full effect, many of this year’s looks have been created quite uniquely. Many designers incorporated masks into their looks and their films as they were created in the recent months.
Designer Brian David Thompson featured an entire photo album displaying only formal wear with masks.
Another new addition this year is Artist Alley, a TV or magazine style show for the film festival which highlights the many artists and creators that make PGHFW possible.
As Pittsburgh is an up-and-coming fashion city, this virtual event is now more important than ever for these artists to showcase their work.
To check out Pittsburgh Fashion Week and Film Festival con- tent, visit pghfw.com.
