The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art kicked off its third annual Memphis Art and Fashion Week this week, and for the first time, local retailers were built directly into the programming. It was a deliberate choice, and it reflects something broader happening in Memphis: the creative economy here is organized, growing, and worth paying attention to.
Fashion High Tea brought live models into the museum’s Holly Court, where guests enjoyed champagne and tea while retailers curated full looks in real time. Janey Bee Jems, Joseph, Lansky Bros., DeNovo, Blue Suede Vintage, and Stock and Belle all participated. The Shop Memphis Fashion Passport ran alongside the week’s events, encouraging shoppers to visit and buy from participating Memphis retailers in person throughout the city.
Brooke Ballard, owner of Janey Bee Jems, a Memphis-based jewelry brand now carried by 60 retailers nationwide including Anthropologie, said what many in the room were feeling: Memphis is a creative community that supports each other, and it deserves recognition. Joseph owner Barrie Wexner-Wurzburg, whose store has anchored Memphis retail since 1930, called the in-person experience a molecular connection that digital advertising simply cannot manufacture.
The closing Runway at the Museum is tonight, May 8, from 6 to 11 p.m., featuring local and regional designers and headlining artist Michael Ngo. A kids fashion workshop runs Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to noon. With the Brooks new Downtown facility set to open later this year, MAFW 2027 is already being planned with entirely new possibilities in mind.
