Colorado Springs Fashion Week canceled but another enterprise hopes to salvage a large-scale extravaganza

With about three weeks to go, Colorado Springs Fashion Week has been abruptly canceled, organizers announced.

Held for the first time in the city one year ago, this year’s celebration of all things from the “creatives” — fashion, art and music — was scheduled for June 24-29.

Colorado Springs City Council had issued a proclamation in October of last year recognizing the the second annual extravaganza.

There are several reasons for the decision, said Jaime Taylor, majority owner and producer of Colorado Springs Fashion Week.

“What we are finding is that doing new things in new spaces you have growing pains,” Taylor said. “We’ve had unforeseen hurdles across the board in getting the community to invest and see value in what we’re doing.”

She also blames some retailers for not welcoming the idea.

“In being a queer-friendly, minority owned business, you meet forces that are in opposition to that, forces that are not aligned with that same sort of value system,” she said.

She would not give specifics but said her company promotes inclusivity and visibility of LGBTQ+ and minority communities, and she believes as a result has received threats related to her business as well as the event.

“We’ve had threats of violence, threats of protests, negative behaviors and negative energies that could be emotionally and physically harmful,” Taylor said.

“Given our social climate in 2024, we were playing it by ear since January and seeing what kind of exposure we were comfortable with,” she said. 

“There are certain protocols and legalities we need to follow through with to make sure we’re protected, and those weren’t in place to make us comfortable in proceeding with this event.”

Taylor said the business is “following the proper protocols on the criminal and civil level” and is in the middle of an undefined legal process, which she said is being filmed as a documentary that will shown at next year’s Fashion Week in Colorado Springs.

But the unexpected decision just weeks before the large-scale event was scheduled to begin has created anger and frustration among some supporters.

“A lot of people are hurt because they were completely blind-sided, and they’ve been working so hard on it,” said Nayada Moore, owner of Hashtag Co., a thrift boutique that provides women’s empowerment activities and also has produced local fashion shows.

In an “all is not lost” spirit, Moore is getting the word out that she would like to step in and put on a similar event around the same time as the defunct Fashion Week.

“I’m hoping we can still do something,” she said. “We were so bummed to get the letter saying it was canceled for 2024.”

Moore had been asked to host some of Fashion Week’s events in her new office space at 2727 Palmer Park Blvd.

She also was one of last year’s 20 designers and one of this year’s eight confirmed designers, who paid an entry fee for models to present their creations.

“Last year’s Fashion Week was so much fun, and I’d like to keep that momentum alive,” Moore said. 

But it’s going to take a fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck involvement from designers, models, vendors and the community, she said. To participate, contact Moore at 719-629-7086, or email 4Kdigitalfilms@gmail.com or at HashtagCo_ on Instagram.

The inaugural Colorado Springs Fashion Week in 2023 featured 225 models from around the Pikes Peak region, Taylor said.

The week included downtown fashion crawls, and vendor booths and a runway finale on the Meanwhile Block, located one block north of Weidner Field, the Switchbacks stadium in downtown. Last year’s total attendees topped 500 people, Taylor said.

“This is not Los Angeles, New York, Milan or Paris, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t validity among the creatives here in what they do,” Taylor said. “It’s important to provide the space and feed and grow the arts to sustain it here instead of going outside to the New Yorks and LAs.”

Colorado Springs Fashion Week will host smaller events throughout this year and prepare for next year’s big week of celebration, she said. Designers who paid the $250 entry fee will be refunded their money, Taylor said. And magazine promotions using models will be fulfilled even though the show won’t go on.

Colorado Springs is one of the five cities under the umbrella corporation of Fashion Weeks of Colorado, which independently host Fashion Week activities in their communities. The others are Durango, Breckenridge, Vail and Aspen. 

“We are planning on returning in 2025 with the biggest fashion event in the Colorado Springs area,” Taylor said.

Moore hopes to salvage a mega celebration this month because fashion is art, she said, and a way to creatively express one’s-self and feel good about it.

“We give models a platform, and we don’t discriminate,” Moore said. “Last year we had a model in a wheelchair that was pink, and she rolled down the runway looking amazing. Fashion is a voice for women. It makes us feel empowered.”