The Cleveland Fashion Gala is the first event of its kind in Cleveland, partially modeled after the highly successful Met Gala.  Cleveland has immense talent in the fashion world as well as some of the highest quality fashion models in the country. The goal of this event is to highlight the work of the two charities that are putting on the event, The Sweetest Day Foundation, Inc. and David Njoku’s God is Excellent Foundation, Inc., and raise money to support their efforts.  To do so we are having the biggest, grandest fashion show in Cleveland’s history.

When we say the biggest fashion show in Cleveland’s history, it’s a bit of an understatement. First of all is the location: Cleveland City Hall Rotunda. While the Rotunda is a big event location, popular for wedding receptions, the space has never been used for a Gala the size of what is being held on July 14.  The beautiful open rotunda is being transformed into a New-York-Fashion-Week-style stage and runway complete with a full video wall that stretches between two of the illustrious pillars.

The Gala will feature 8 of the best high-fashion designers in Ohio, with the majority from Cleveland.  The designers include Cierra Hicks, DRMVZN, Gerardo Encinas, Goddezz & Darby, Jevon Terance, Kizzy Koutore, Renzo LaDon and Mirenndos Fashion.  Nearly all of the over 85 designs on the Gala runway will be couture pieces, several custom pieces made specifically for the Gala.

The gala will feature 85 models in honor of David Njoku’s number with the Browns.  This is the highest model participation in any fashion show ever produced in Cleveland.

And let’s not forget the celebrities.  Starting with the event sponsors, Browns Tight End David Njoku and Fashion Model Raina Tiffiny will both walk the runway along with Sergio Delavicci, best known for his role in John Wick 3, and Maria Fautali, a Cleveland native and professional football player in Kansas City.  Talks are in the works for additional special guests who will be joining us on the runway.  We have Cleveland-born DJ Meel, DJ to the stars, coming back to Cleveland to lend his talents.  Our celebrity event co-hosts are movie star Brandon Delsid, who most recently was JLo’s co-star in the Amazon film “This Is Me Now,” and Bianca Golden, an alum of TV’s “America’s Next Top Model”.

Cleveland is the birthplace of the Sweetest Day holiday which is celebrated on the third Saturday of October throughout the country.  Originally, it was designed as a holiday to perform acts of kindness to the forgotten and underprivileged.  Original organizers hired silent film stars to distribute candy to children in Cleveland orphanages and hospitals, and nursing home residents (called “old-age homes”) in 1921.  The Sweetest Day Foundation, Inc., a fashion-model-led organization started in Cleveland has the mission of educating people on the true meaning of the Sweetest Day holiday, helping people understand the rich 100-year-plus history of the holiday’s start in Cleveland, and doing outreach on the holiday to homeless shelters and nursing homes where models deliver Swag Bags full of goodies to people who don’t get much attention. Last year, the first outreach delivered gift bags, winter clothes, and pizza to children in Cleveland’s largest family homeless shelter.

The Sweetest Day Foundation wanted to hold an annual fundraiser that brought attention to the foundation, to the city of Cleveland and to the fashion industry. Its founder, international fashion cover model, and Cleveland native Raina Tiffiny, and the SDF partnered with Chief David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns to put on this year’s Gala.  Browns Tight End Njoku is a Cleveland legend. In addition to being selected for the Pro-Bowl this year and all of his other sports accolades, he is known for having a home fire that burnt his arms and face.  Despite his burns, he put on a mask and went to work the next day, delivering a victory for the Browns and Cleveland, becoming the epitome of work ethic. His foundation works both to support his humanitarian efforts in Nigeria and to support burn victims.  The two foundations have partnered to raise awareness for their causes and raise money to support their missions. To come together for this kind of purpose and with this level of talent, the Cleveland Fashion Gala has put together an event that will be the biggest fashion show in Cleveland history and an amazing night of high fashion, celebrities, and fun … all for worthwhile charitable causes.

The 2024 Cleveland Fashion Gala has adopted the theme “The New Roaring Twenties of Fashion.”  In a post-war era, the 1920s saw the nation emerge with high-fashion parties and celebrations with flair.  In a twist of irony, the 2020s started with a pandemic, considered a low point for fashion and celebrations.  In the post-pandemic era, pent-up desire for fashion and celebration has emerged with a new roar, and the Cleveland Fashion Gala will showcase designers of extraordinary caliber from Cleveland and around Ohio showing some of their most vibrant couture looks.

The 2020’s also brings with it the centennial celebration of the creation of Sweetest Day.  Sugar rationed for the war was made available to candy companies, which used this surplus to start a holiday giving sweets to children in orphanages and hospitals in Cleveland, as well as shut-in seniors in local nursing homes.  The Sweetest Day Foundation, Inc. has revived this tradition by conducting an annual outreach program to bring joy and love to the forgotten and underprivileged on Sweetest Day.  The holiday started in Cleveland, but is now celebrated throughout the country and the Gala will draw inspiration from those beginnings to have a party unlike Cleveland has ever seen.

This is an ambitious undertaking to put on an event of this magnitude.  Our first goal is to have an amazing event that will set the tone for future events to come.  Secondarily, the goal is to raise money and awareness for both of the gala charities and their missions.  With this event we hope to shine a spotlight on Cleveland, the amazing city that it is, and the incredible fashion talent both with high quality designers and amazing and diverse models.  Everything great about Cleveland will be on display all at once.

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Published by HOLR Magazine

Image Credits: The Cleveland Fashion Gala 2024