NEW TRADE ORGANIZATION AIMS TO MAKE NASHVILLE A CENTER FOR AMERICAN FASHION PRODUCTION

If you want to be an actor, move to Los Angeles; if you want to form a start-up, move to San Francisco; if you want to be a fashion designer, move to New York; and if you want to be a songwriter, move to Nashville. Or, at least, that was true once upon a time.
                 

While the music industry continues to be the strongest economy in Nashville, the city is also proving itself to be a nurturing environment for young fashion brands looking to make a name for themselves outside of the crowded scenes in New York and Los Angeles. Imogene + Willie might have the most name recognition, but over 150 small-scale brands call Nashville their home. And now, thanks to Van Tucker, a former banker with a history of helping creative brands build business infrastructures, the fashion community has formed a trade organization with the hopes of incubating brands and preparing them for the global stage.

"We took that information back to the community and presented it and said what do you think? What do you want to do with this?" said Tucker. "They overwhelmingly wanted to explore the possibility of forming a council or some kind of governing body." A group of about 150 people split into committees to evaluate different sectors and, flash forward to April 2015, the Nashville Fashion Alliance (NFA) was born. It's mission is to "build this infrastructure and nurture this ecosystem so that our brands can survive and thrive," said Tucker, by focusing on advocacy, education, sourcing and production.