Combat Boots to Catwalks: FTM Fashion Week  

 FTM Fashion Week returned for its 13th season, spotlighting Fashion Around the World. 

NYC? Try Jacksonville. The NC city traded its everyday uniform for stilettos as FTM Fashion Week graced the coastal town Oct. 17.  Now in its 13th season—with this year’s theme being “Fashion Around the World”—the chic celebration featured six designers, cultural performances and a runway intentionally built for everyone. 

“I did not want to take New York’s Fashion Week and slap it on Jacksonville,” says producer and founder Latoya Scott. “We created Fashion Week with Jacksonville. It’s embedded in the community.” 

The runway looked a little different than most. The oldest model is around 73, and the youngest designer around 11—already using the annual event to create and showcase her work. 

FTM also works with Jacksonville’s Single Marine Program to scout volunteers, with some of the Marines trading volunteer duty for runway struts. 

“We have all shapes, all sizes, all ages going down the runway,” Scott says. “The Marines typically come in, help, volunteer, and then the next thing we know they’re walking down the runway! They absolutely love it.” 

This year’s theme pushed the show even further outside runway norms. “We have designers coming from all over…  to showcase different cultural attire from different countries,” Scott says. “And then we also have cultural groups that will be showcasing their attire and some cultural type dances.”

The theme for this year’s show was partly inspired by Scott’s personal experiences. Her family is currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan, while she produces from overseas; a team in Jacksonville handled stateside happenings. 

“We make sure that everyone is going to see fashion around the world, literally,” Scott says. “Fashion is everywhere. It connects multiple cultures, just as sports, music and food do.” While the event was runway-focused, she says its impact has stretched much further. 

One designer, Michelle Collins-Windle, first came to FTM as a volunteer. Scott noticed what she was wearing, learned she had made it herself and convinced her to bring five pieces to the runway. The models wanted more, so Collins-Windle sent her daughter home to fetch roughly 30 more pieces. 

Since then, the fashion visionary has worked globally with collaborators far beyond Jacksonville, including the jewelry designer behind the Black Panther films. 

Other FTM participants have gone on to international modeling, Paris Fashion Week, film work and pageants. Scott recalls one model who first participated at 13 and is now an international model attending college.

“We’re not just producing a fashion show; we’re producing something that is long-lasting and will help with the growth of all the brands that are connected to it,” Scott says. That means deliberately putting more than designers and models in the room. Scott says FTM works to bring in buyers, magazines, local press and industry professionals who can help turn a runway appearance into something bigger. 

After 13 seasons, Scott’s goal is still remarkably simple: bring people together, regardless of their race, background or religious beliefs, she says. In Jacksonville, apparently, all roads lead to the runway.