All businesses, regardless of industry and size, experience transformation. However, the degree of metamorphosis can vary wildly, especially depending on leadership’s intentions and direct involvement.

When it comes to Arizona Fashion Week (AZFW), transformation is fundamental and a source of pride and joy for its partners. From designers and stylists to models and other fashion artists, growth is encouraged and evident everywhere within AZFW.

Need more? Read more: Inside Arizona Fashion Week 2024: Where artistry meets the runway

Models, designers, and stylists find a place to flourish

Joseph Leeds, co-director of Arizona Fashion, is part of what makes AZFW a business that celebrates transformation at every level.

“I think my favorite thing is seeing the transformation in people,” he says. “Seeing them walk in on the first day — whether a model, a volunteer, someone who works backstage, or with hair and makeup — and then seeing them exit completely transformed.”

Model growth

Leeds gives the example of two AZFW models Naina Atem and Atsunari Matsuyama who have dramatically evolved in their time with the organization.

Atem, originally from Sudan and raised in Egypt, had only been in the U.S. for a few years when she joined AZFW. “She was so shy and nervous and couldn’t even stand still for a photo,” Leeds explains. “In less than a year, she’s now traveling the country, working with top photographers and booking some of the largest runway shows.”

Matsuyama, classically trained in ballet (starting at age six), joined the Ballet Arizona Studio Company for the 2019–2020 season and now works with AZFW.

“We got to witness his transformation from stage performance to the runway, and to see him grow and learn in less than a year, walking in New York Fashion Week,” Leeds says, adding, “This is something that I don’t think people can understand in terms of gravity unless they physically watch it happen, and I get to see it every day.”

Designer dreams

In addition to fostering the comeuppance of models, AZFW places tremendous effort to foster the growth of designers, working closely with Arizona State University’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), Phoenix College’s Fashion Design program and other educational outlets throughout Arizona. 

BOSW had a literal front-row seat to up-and-coming designers at AZFW’s recent private runway event at its X Phoenix venue. Students and burgeoning designers work with AZFW throughout the year, receiving guidance from mentors and industry experts. The creativity and precision of their work were clearly on display during the show.

Lena Mars, who began her formal design journey with ASU Herberger Institute of Arts and Design, debuted her first AZFW collection in 2023, thanks to an AZFW Student Scholarship. 

Leeds discovered Mars as a budding new talent on Instagram, quickly bringing her into the AZFW fold. 

“He told me all about Arizona Fashion Week and how they wanted to incorporate student designers into future shows,” Mars says. “That’s when the concept of the student designers scholarship came about.”

Ever since, Mars says AZFW has had her heart. 

“They have helped me grow so much as a person and a designer,” she says. “I truly feel like I have a family here.”

Her foundations at AZFW helped Mars advance in her career. She continues to showcase her sustainable fashion collections, splitting her time between Arizona and New York. 

Stylists shoot for the stars

Stylists also find their way to AZFW, including LaQuaeja Williams who, after graduating with a bachelor’s in Fashion Business from Kansas State University, found her way from Kansas to Arizona in hopes of expanding her fashion dreams. In Williams’ case, she found Leeds and Alex Salazer, director of Arizona Fashion Week through Instagram.

What started as a brunch meeting, turned into monthly “industry nights,” where Williams had the opportunity to showcase her styling prowess. This eventually led to a lead stylist position with AZFW.

“When I came here, I noticed people are willing to help you,” Williams says, “especially within this industry.”

In addition to her work with AZFW, Williams successfully freelances as a stylist with a growing client roster.

What’s next in the transformation of Arizona Fashion Week?

Above and beyond the overall transformative talent journeys occurring within AZFW, the organization itself is experiencing an ongoing transformation. 

“Arizona Fashion Week is the only fashion platform in the country, that pays its hair and makeup artists and models,” Leeds says. “Next year, I’d like everybody to really understand this precedent and how monumental it truly is. I want everyone to take themselves a little more seriously and take the industry more seriously.”

Leeds believes that as a state, Arizona has so much more to offer in terms of the fashion industry and its ability to foster growth. 

“We don’t act like the fourth largest city in the country,” he says. “I’d like to see that shift, and I’d like to see people dress accordingly, come dressed for the occasion — don’t wait to save a special outfit for a special event. Every day is a special occasion.”

Adds Leeds in closing, “I think the narrative of fashion and culture in Arizona is due for a revamp, and I think we are on the precipice of that and I’m very excited. I look forward to seeing what people will achieve next year.”