If you’ve never heard of Magic City Fashion Week, Keicia Shanta is determined to change that. Keicia serves as communications director for Magic City Fashion Week, founded in 2017 by Daniel Grier, the local designer behind Splashed by DKG. Magic City Fashion Week is much more than a week of fashion shows.
MCFW is a year-round program that seeks to showcase local creatives, promote sustainable fashion, and encourage inclusivity in the industry. Keicia’s job is to spread the news of MCFW to Birmingham and beyond. Get to know our newest FACE of Birmingham!
Tell us about the upcoming Magic City Fashion Week event, Fashion Resurrected.
It’s part two of our kickoff to let everyone know we’re back and have all of these amazing programs running throughout the year. We have model workshops, giving them the basics of building their portfolio in Birmingham.
We’ve had events for content creators.
We have sewing workshops. Fashion starts from the basics — mending, repairing, re-wearing. With the sewing program, you can work with professionals like Sonya Muhammad from Bib & Tucker Sew-Op. This program helps to highlight our focus on sustainable fashion.
Why do you believe it’s important for Birmingham to have its own fashion week?
I want to always give kudos to those who started first: Birmingham Fashion Week set a precedent that we can actually have a creative outlet with fashion in the Deep South. It’s important that we keep the ball rolling for creatives so they can have a platform. We have so many talented people who have left the state because they felt they couldn’t do it in Alabama.
With our connections with the Council of Fashion Designers of America in New York, we can show fashion creatives they can do this from Birmingham. You can be from West End, do this, have your business here, and create a sustainable brand for yourself.
Tell us more about Magic City Fashion Week’s collaboration with the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The CFDA is the trade organization for all American designers. CFDA Connects is a program that created a coalition with all regional fashion weeks — like Atlanta Fashion Week, Magic City Fashion Week, and Nashville Fashion Week — to create a pipeline for any designers who may be ready to showcase their work on the New York Fashion Week level. It takes us through the steps to get them in front of the likes of the Neiman Marcus group or Saks Fifth Avenue.
They also offer professional development for our programs, teaching us about funding. And we get to connect with other regional fashion weeks.
We’re creating and nurturing that pipeline to ensure that our designers don’t have to uproot if they want to stay in Alabama but can still have those connections in New York.
Talk about Magic City Fashion Week’s efforts to make fashion more inclusive.
We have designers and models from all spectrums, including disabled models. One of our main drives has been to make sure the program is inclusive and diverse.
With high fashion, we still have a lot of work to do, but we are so fortunate to be a part of this CFDA Connects program so we can have that direct pipeline and let them know, “Y’all got a lot of work to do, but this is what we’re doing down here in the Southeast.”
What tips do you have for women struggling to find their sense of style?
Nowadays, so many influencers online cover the gamut of different sizes and shapes. Find an influencer that you connect with and who has your body shape and type, and pull inspiration from them. Try different things. Try different looks.
But remember, every trend is not for everyone. Always remember the basics and make sure you’re building a wardrobe that has longevity. Blazers, a good pair of denim jeans, a nice pair of pants, a nice button-down. Those never go out of style.
Where are your favorite places to shop?
I love consignment, so I shop The RealReal and Rebag for accessories. And I love shopping the emerging designers we have at Magic City Fashion Week. If Daniel has a new bucket hat coming out, I’ll grab that. I might get a dress by Caléchie for my daughters. (Kelechi Mitchell won Magic City Fashion Week’s 2017 Emerging Designer competition, and superstars like Beyoncé have worn his styles.)
What’s the best advice you have to offer?
Stop expecting and start accepting. When I moved into public relations from fashion blogging, I thought it would be easy. But I heard “No” a lot, and that can be defeating. I had to accept that it wasn’t personal. I had to get out of my feelings and make sure I was still pushing every day.
Tell us about the last great book you read.
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem. I draw attention to that book because my father, who passed away about seven years ago and was one of my biggest influences, had a suit made by Dapper Dan. My father loved dressing. He loved shoes. He loved jewelry. He was the one with all the rings. They used to call him Star Child because he was a child performer in Birmingham.
He had a suit by Dapper Dan and I didn’t know who Dapper Dan was at the time; I didn’t know his impact in Harlem. So, that’s the last book I read. I had a full circle moment when we went to New York Fashion Week last year. I was able to go to his atelier in Harlem and get a piece made by Dapper Dan for my birthday.
What are some of your favorite spots in Birmingham?
I love Hattie B’s. I could move into Hattie B’s for that pimento mac and cheese.
I love the burgers at Jack Brown’s.
My husband and I like going to the rooftop bar at Redmont Hotel, and we love cruising the city, driving around Downtown and Avondale, looking at all the revitalization, and going to the Lakeview District.
Name three things you can’t live without.
My vitamins, my iPhone, and fresh flowers.
Magic City Fashion Week will host Fashion Resurrected on May 18 at 4 p.m. in the Gallery at the Pizitz. The fashion showcase will highlight steps to building a more environmentally friendly wardrobe, including shopping with emerging designers, upcycling, and buying better, longer-lasting pieces. Learn more here.
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