Atlanta Fashion Week turns 20 with a citywide celebration of style

Atlanta Fashion Week has returned for the first week of October with a series of events stretching throughout the city.

For its 20th anniversary, the celebration goes beyond the traditional runway with its “Intersections” theme with a more interactive approach. Live presentations will feature human mannequins, and attendees can view new pieces on the models in a more intimate setting.

Cosmetics and fragrances will also be featured, with opportunities for attendees to shop.

From Buckhead, Pullman Yards and Atlantic Station, the event will span across five days.

There will also be events with Atlanta Art Fair and Runway for a Cause, merging fashion with visual art and philanthropy.

Founder and executive producer Angela Watts said ATLFW has “always been about more than what happens on a runway.”

“Atlanta has an incredible creative ecosystem, and our goal is to create a platform where designers, retailers, artists, entrepreneurs and cultural institutions can participate in what Fashion Week means for this city,” she said in a press release.

“There are incredible people and organizations creating meaningful experiences throughout this city. Atlanta Fashion Week should be a platform that connects those communities, amplifies their work and gives people a reason to experience Atlanta through fashion,” Watts said in the release.

Festivities begin Sept. 30 with a private fashion-influencer meetup, public fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and a public panel on Atlanta fashion featuring rapper-turned fashion retailer Trinidad James.

Other events throughout the week will include a talk about fashion business and maintaining creative independence, networking mixers, a soiree and an invite-only award ceremony dedicated to industry leaders.

Former Atlanta resident Patrick Kelly will receive the Vanguard Legacy Award, posthumously. The late American fashion designer will be honored for his extraordinary life, work and enduring influence on fashion and culture.

Watts said she wanted to honor people who helped inspire her vision for ATLFW.

“Because it’s actually 20 years for myself of building this program up (and) also being an entrepreneur ... I wanted to honor some creatives, leadership and visionaries who helped or continues to shape Atlanta’s fashion and culture.”

On Oct. 4, the week will wrap with a curated boutique of independent local and international designers at Bloomingdale’s in Lenox Square.

ATLFW soft-launched in 2006 with a group of unrelated fashion programming. The week really built steam with correlated and larger scheduled events in 2014.

Founded by Watts through her production agency Ragtrade Atlanta, she previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the fashion and culture series is meant for “visionaries who challenge convention, rewrite the rules, and lead the industry into uncharted territory.”

Creator and designer Jai Lyle of luxury heritage brand JAI LYLE MCMLXXXII began his collaboration with ATLFW in 2025. He said he’s “forever grateful” for the platform it has given him.

Just within the last three months, JAI LYLE MCMLXXXII has been showcased at Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard, the U.S. Open tennis tournament, New York Fashion Week and Harlem Fashion Row’s summer pop-up shop at The Retreat by The Gathering Spot in Atlanta.

“This is an Atlanta story, but touching different spaces and places,” Lyle said.