Looking for fashion inspiration now that we're going out once again? Fashion Week MN (FWMN) offers plenty of ideas. The weeklong series features runway shows, conversations with designers and a black-tie gala — something for everyone, organizers hope. "I really think about accessibility," said Sarah Edwards, co-founder of FWMN. "We're really passionate about equity and inclusion." In addition to Native Star Light, an evening spotlighting Native American creatives in a celestial-themed production, Allianz Field will host an event featuring Asian American Pacific Islander fashion, art and food. A gathering at W Hotel Minneapolis aims to raise funds for a development project in Sierra Leone.

Opening this year’s spring fashion showcase is Rose + Bull, a dynamic duo of locally based stylists whose fashion show, La Vie En Rose, will highlight talented local designers and celebrate Minnesota’s vintage community in the first event of a week of runway shows and forums for discussing and celebrating Minnesota fashion. Before Fashion Week commences, meet a few of the producers and designers who make this week not just possible, but truly special. Some are well-known veterans of Fashion Week and some have just burst onto the fashion scene, but all these creatives share a passion for uplifting the best and brightest of Minnesota’s style community.

A Twin Cities makeup artist, Mao Xiong's work takes her backstage at local fashion shows where she's witnessed the growth of the local design community. But when it comes to her own community of Asian Americans, she thought representation on the runway was lacking. Xiong decided to do something about it. She and fellow creative Kara Doucette, a chef specializing in Korean cuisine, came up with the idea of producing an event that would showcase Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) talent from fashion to music to food. Called Coalesce, their inaugural fashion show—the first of its kind in the Twin Cities—takes place Saturday at Allianz Field, capping Fashion Week Minnesota. A testament to the hunger for cultural diversity in the arts, Coalesce is already sold out. More than a show, Xiong says she wants Coalesce to be a collective, building a movement for AAPI creatives that will lead to future events.

Fashion Week Minnesota is underway now! This year, you’ll find a diverse group of shows to check out. But the people involved want you to know, this week is about more than just fashion, especially after two years of virtual or smaller events because of the pandemic. Delina White is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe which is located about three in a half hours north of the Twin Cities. She is a designer and also the producer of the Native Starlight show that happened Monday. "I think it's very important that the Native heritage, the Native culture and values and beliefs, we talk about it in a way that can't be separated from who we are as a people," White said. "When we bring that into our clothing and our designs I think it's really significant." The fashion show showcased original Native design and style brought by White, Osamuskwasis from the Great Mountains of the Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada and Lauren Good Day from the Great Plains of the Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara Nation, Fort Berthold, North Dakota.

Fashion Week Minnesota has already hit the ground running, but there’s still time to catch the fashion buzz at events around Minneapolis. On Thursday, April 28, visit MartinPatrick3 for cocktails and conversation with designers, where you can find more about brands like MELKE, a sustainable, gender-fluid clothing brand led by Emma Gage, who is originally from Minnesota. On Saturday, April 30, the W Hotel will be the place to be for Black and White Night, raising awareness for Sierra Leone. Featured designers include Nancy May Kuledge, Coty Schooley, Deborah Block/ Hill, Mariah Talbot, Nikita Curtis and Arianne Zager.

Minnesota’s talented designers are in the spotlight this week. It’s Spring Fashion Week and there are shows every night through Saturday.

One of the events celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander creatives. Coalesce Collective hits the runway at Allianz Field on April 30th. The event is sold out but can still be livestreamed.