ATLANTA — Atlanta’s fashion and design community has a wealth of diverse tastes, cultural influence and emerging talent.
This was all on display at the inaugural Fashion in the Garden event at the InterContinental in Buckhead Thursday.
The fashion show featured Atlanta-based designers, Black-owned brands and designers who have cultural significance.
Dr. Courtney Hammonds and Dr. Dionne L. Boyd created the event.
The creators wanted to bring attention to the work of Atlanta-based designers and embodied a diverse talent pool with its designers and models.
Those designers include Linda Bezuidenhout Couture, Rodrick Gilchrist and SCAD graduate and Turkey native Aysegul Ikna.
The show also featured Black-owned jewelry house Enjeanious Jewels.
According to a a 2021 New York Times report , only four out of 69 major fashion companies they reached out to have Black creative directors.
The report also found that four out of five major designer jobs went to white men in the summer of 2021. One of those jobs went to Gabriela Hearst, a Latina woman from Uruguay.
Dr. Hammonds told 11Alive a big purpose of this event was to shine a light on diverse designers in Atlanta while bringing like-minded individuals together.
He said the event helps to network, collaborate and to ultimately expand Atlanta’s influence on fashion and design.
He also added the event is about getting to showcase talented designers and help garner support.
"Dr. Dionne L. Boyd and I want to expand the fashion community in Atlanta to increase awareness of emerging designers and to make it easier for consumers to find and support them," said Dr. Hammonds.
Kyra Oliver, the Director of Marketing for InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, also weighed in on the importance of giving diverse talent a platform.
"InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta is dedicated to delivering memorable moments to our guests while uplifting our local community. Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds and Dr. Dionne L. Boyd brings that to the table with their vision,” said Oliver.
