In August, the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural affairs released a call for proposals for their annual art festival, ELEVATE 2022: OPEN SPACES. Willow (The Bakery’s Creative Director) said “let’s pitch a fashion show…,” and in true yes-and spirit, I said “...on a rooftop!”

I managed this project from concept to completion. In July, I created a pitch for Common Thread: Skyline Fashion Show + Night Market. In late August, this project was accepted. We were given 5 weeks to produce the event and a $15k grant to help cover the costs.

On Friday, September 30th, The Bakery produced Common Thread: Skyline Fashion Show and Night Market. This free event was a part of ELEVATE 2022: OPEN SPACES and encouraged creativity and self-expression through fashion. We took hemlines to the skyline on the top level of 76 Forsyth Parking Deck in South Downtown. The fashion show featured 8 local emerging designers. The market featured 2 local food vendors and 10 creatives selling handmade clothes, accessories, and sustainable fashion.

I wore a lot of hats in planning and producing this event. I managed all of the administration from the proposal to the extensive grant and budget reporting required by the city. I secured event rental equipment including portable restrooms and generators. I oversaw the open call and curation of the fashion show and I secured vendors for the night market. On top of this pre-production work, I also hired and served as the day-of point of contact for the market vendors, production crew, event staff, and documentation team - totaling 35+ people. 

Because this event was on the roof of a parking deck, we had limited access to the space before and after the event. Our production team really knocked it out of the park!