Destination: Gainesville

New York. Paris. London. Milan. Gainesville? That is right, fashion week is now within reach (and budget) of local students.

With a debut in spring 2009, Ocala's neighboring city set into motion an annual four-day showcase of fashion and art by local designers, artists and boutiques.

Although it originally premiered as a bi-annual event (spring and fall of 2009), this season, Gainesville Fashion Week (GFW) will be held only during the late spring season, from April 7-11.

These dates were chosen in order to maintain a stronger focus on the presentation, according to Tiffany Williams, producer and PR manager.

A fashion forward community

The goal of GFW (www.gainesvillefashionweek.com) is to bring a greater sense of art appreciation and culture to North Central Florida. With a target on young professionals and local vendors, the event has hopes to both stimulate local economy and encourage citizens to engage in the art scene of the area.

"There's a lot here that caters to the students, and part of our goal is that it will also benefit the young professionals," Williams said. "For those that have chosen to stay here (Gainesville) after college and of course the students in the college as well: something for everyone, essentially."

In addition to being a foundation to students who are involved in the fashion scene, GFW has aspirations to bring the community into a cultural and economic strong hold.

"What we'd really like to do is make it more of an event that involves a lot of the community by bringing businesses together as a platform to create exposure for artists and also local businesses," Williams said.

Small-town charm, big-city attitude

With various art exhibits and runway shows serving as the centerpiece of the event, GFW is really an opportunity for local talent to display their art work and aptitude for the arts, especially for those like the headlining designer, Bobby Kelley.

"People would be like ‘you're a designer in Gainesville, what could you possibly know about fashion?'" Kelley said. "So the last show was a good opportunity for me to come up with a statement and make a 43 piece collection based off of that statement and communicate it."

After 2500 guests attended between last year's spring and fall shows, the team was pleased with the turnout. This year they are looking forward to an even more successful presentation and are reaching out to Ocala students and citizens for support.

"I'm very inspired by Ocala right now," Kelley said. "My current collection is actually very equestrian. My whole show is kind of themed around that and the idea of old southern money."

For Kelley, GFW is important for livening up the fashion scene in the Central Florida area rather than perpetuating the myth that only big cities know fashion.

Kelley is eager to bring together high fashion fierceness with the small-town charm of both Ocala and Gainesville.

"If I was working in New York, L.A., Chicago or Miami I could be rich!" Kelley said. "But I really like the community here, the small town feel, but still with the amenities of a large city. I want to be able to branch Gainesville Fashion Week out towards Ocala and even Lake City."

Ocala may be in for a long-awaited and much needed fashion invasion of its own. Is Ocala the next stop on the fashion week flight? Only time will tell.

Lights, Camera, Fashion!

Over the course of four days, events will include art shows and an invitation-only red carpet mixer on April 7 , ticketed runway shows through April 10, and a Sunday brunch on April 11. Venues are to be announced.

For businesses looking to get it in on the fashion action, sponsorship packages at various levels are available to contribute to and advertise with GFW. Packages are offered at "First Class", "Coach" and "Cargo" levels. Each level includes different benefits.

A runway coaching class will be held on Feb. 17 at Sharab Lounge www.sharablouge.com for those who are interested in participating in GFW as models.

Applications are also being taken for those who plan to attend the casting call on Feb. 21 (hosted by Neutral7 Design Group www.neutral7.com) at 2444 NE 1st Blvd, Suite 700, Gainesville, Fla.