Myrtle Beach Fashion Week set for next week. Business owner wants it to be an annual event
A Columbia-area businesswoman who loves fashion and enjoys bringing events to different cities in the Carolinas has chosen Myrtle Beach for her next project.
Donnah Bellah, 43, is organizing Myrtle Beach Fashion Week, an event geared toward bringing designers and models from all over the world to the tourist destination.
She said Myrtle Beach is a good market for two reasons: the beauty and the lack of fashion events.
“I did my research and realized that Myrtle Beach has nothing about fashion,” Bellah said. “There’s nobody doing fashion shows, (and) the only thing that’s been going on is maybe a photo shoot here and there.”
The five-day event runs from March 21 to 25 and will feature free events for the public and a Saturday fashion show at The Hangout located at 1181 Celebrity Circle. Tickets for Saturday’s show will range from $15 to $40 each.
Designers will be coming from Paris, France, Los Angeles and New York.
Since Bellah announced the event and began talking to businesses about her plans, she has gotten a positive response from the community.
“Everybody just leeched onto it, wanting to be a part of it, so that turned out really good,” she said. “A lot more (people) than what I expected because it’s a brand new event to a city that had nothing.”
It took a lot of legwork, she said, to get people involved. She visited a lot of big name clothing stores and local boutiques, and some of them will be a part of fashion week.
The two casting calls Bellah hosted brought out over 300 people. The first one was in person at Coastal Grand Mall and the second one was virtual. At those casting calls, designers were responsible for picking models to wear their clothes and represent their brand at the event.
Bellah, of Sumter, has started other events in South Carolina, including a Columbia Kids Fashion Week and a beauty pageant and fashion week back in her hometown.
She plans to bring the affair back next year and hopes it’ll encourage more fashion-inspired attractions.
“I want this to be the most talked about fashion event in Myrtle Beach. I want everybody to be interested in repeating the event for next year ... I want to leave (with people) that (it) was an amazing show and the type of designs that have been walking down the runway.”
What to expect
Tuesday, March 21: MBFW photo shoot
Wednesday, March 22: The fashion panel
Thursday, March 23: The designer and retail spotlight
Friday, March 24: Model and designer mixer
Saturday, March 25: Sailing Into Fashion show (the grand finale)
For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
