Atlanta Fashion Week returned with a bigger footprint in 2026, proving that fashion in the city extends far beyond the runway.
Source: Shannel Resto / SJR Photography
Running from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4, Atlanta Fashion Week transformed the city into a five-day celebration centered on fashion, culture, and commerce. Powered by BMW, this year’s programming combined ATLFW’s official events with a newly expanded lineup of Citywide Partnership Events designed to spotlight the broader creative ecosystem shaping Atlanta.
Source: Shannel Resto / SJR Photography
With key programming taking place at Atlantic Station, ATLFW brought designers, retailers, artists, entrepreneurs, tastemakers, and consumers into the same conversation while creating new opportunities for audiences to experience fashion through more than a traditional runway show.
“Atlanta Fashion Week has always been about more than what happens on a runway,” ATLFW founder and executive producer Angela Watts said in an official press release.
Source: Shannel Resto / SJR Photography
This year, that philosophy took on a more literal meaning as ATLFW expanded its footprint, inviting more of the city’s creative community into the Fashion Week experience.
“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,” Watts continued. “By introducing our Citywide Partnerships, we are creating greater connectivity across Atlanta while giving audiences more ways to discover the people and ideas shaping what’s next.”
The Vanguard Awards Presented by BMW — Oct. 2: An intimate opening-night cocktail celebration honoring leaders across fashion, culture, commerce, and creative innovation. Honorees included the late Patrick Kelly, who received the Vanguard Legacy Award posthumously; Lauren Amos and Julie Hogg of Wish ATL, recipients of the Retail Vanguard Award; Cathy Norwood, recipient of the Fashion Catalyst Award; and multidisciplinary artist and designer Alexander John, who received the Vanguard Award for Creative Innovation.
ATLFW: Intersections — Oct. 3 at Atlantic Station: Independent and emerging designers presented collections through live model installations and dedicated presentation environments rather than a traditional runway format, allowing guests to see the garments up close.
Bloomingdale’s x ATLFW: The Edit — Oct. 4: The official programming concluded with a curated shopping experience featuring more than 30 independent and emerging brands, connecting designers and businesses directly with consumers in a major retail environment.
The official events represented only part of ATLFW’s expanded footprint.
Source: Shannel Resto / SJR Photography
New for 2026, its Citywide Partnership Events brought independently produced fashion, art, retail, lifestyle and cultural programming into the larger Fashion Week calendar. The lineup included:
Runway for A Cause at Buckhead Art & Company
Atlanta Art Fair at Pullman Yards
ATELIER Fashion Influencer Rooftop Cocktails + Private Editorial Suite Social
2nd Annual Fashion & Friends Night Out
Art After Dark: The ATLFW Edition
Personal Space: A Fragrance Experience
This expanded format meant Fashion Week could be experienced through several different corners of Atlanta’s creative community.
After Dark, Fashion Week Moved Into The Gallery
BOSSIP got a firsthand experience on Oct. 2 with Art After Dark: The ATLFW at Gallery Anderson Smith.
The after-hours experience brought contemporary art, live jazz, cocktails and wine together in a gallery setting that encouraged guests to network, sip and explore at their own pace.
Artwork spanning painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media and textured pieces filled the space as jazz played throughout the evening.
Guests could also participate in a tequila tasting from Reyalibre Tequila, a Black woman-owned brand. The brand’s owner announced that the tequila is run through wood, contributing to an aromatic finish designed to create a softer experience than the burn typically associated with tequila.
Among the works that particularly caught BOSSIP’s Lauryn Bass’ eye were:
“Ibeji (Twin)” (2025) — EZEDIRE: Oil sticks on canvas, 48 x 36 inches, $6,200
“Orion” (2025) — Amy Mazzetta: Carved fresco on wood panel, 48 x 48 inches, $10,500
“Level Up II” (2026) — Joel Mamboka: Mixed media on canvas, 48 x 36 inches, $4,800
“Uche (Thought)” (2025) — EZEDIRE: Oil sticks on canvas, 54 x 54 inches, $10,500
“Type R” (2017) — Lorenzo Marini: Mixed media on canvas, 40 x 40 inches, $15,000
“Isness 150” (2018) — Bassmi: Acrylic and oil on canvas, 72 x 60 inches, $22,000
The variety was part of the experience. Guests could move from carved fresco and oil sticks to mixed media, photography and sculpture while conversation and jazz carried through the gallery.
There was no runway to watch or designated seat to return to. For the evening, Fashion Week became an invitation to slow down, mingle and appreciate another corner of Atlanta’s creative scene.
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