In its 31st year, Boston Fashion Week is preparing to bring its unique fashion programming to the city with the goal of making fashion accessible for the entire community.

Scheduled for Oct. 5-11, the first Boston Fashion Week happened in 1995 and was started because local designers and event planners wanted to have the city’s attention on the local fashion communit, said founder and executive director Jay Calderin.

“Everybody was doing independent things, our local designers and event planners. This was a way to have this central focus for a week, where everybody planned their events during that time period, to get the media’s attention, to get the public’s attention and it went great the first year, and it’s been going ever since,” Calderin said.

He also shared what community members can look forward to during this year’s Fashion Week, which he said is not just runway events.

“There’s a little bit of everything. There are educational events, there are fashion shows. So, it isn’t just strictly runway. People are doing all different things. Every year is a reflection of what people in the community want that particular year. So, the designers will do the events that they think their audience will respond well to,” he said.

One of the programs Calderin highlighted is Teen Talk: Fashion 101. On Oct 11. at the Central Library in Copley Square at 2 p.m., teenagers interested in fashion careers will have the opportunity to hear about the journeys of seasoned industry professionals.

“Over the years when we’ve had it before, teens are really amazing. They have such great questions, and they get to connect with our pros. I’m really excited about that one,” he said.

He also talked about the importance of diversity in fashion, saying that representation is important for both professionals in the industry and for the audience/ consumer, as consumers want to see themselves reflected in fashion.

“When it comes to diversity, you need diversity both in [front of and] behind the scenes…because then you look at the whole design process from multiple places, [and] you get the best possible results when you do that. If you have just one narrow scope, you’re cutting opportunities away from what could happen,” he added.

Some of the week’s diverse programming includes the World of Drag Panel Discussion, where Jeneé Osterheldt, the Boston Globe’s deputy managing director of talent, culture + development, moderates a conversation “exploring the vibrant world of drag through the eyes of local performers, makers and advocates,” and Spectrum: Where Fine Art Meets Fashion - An Evening With Kkira, “an intimate showcase of Spectrum, Kkira’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection — a celebration of color, texture and the artistry of transformation.”

There are also diverse fashion events outside of Boston Fashion Week.

On Sept. 27 the city hosted its first Cape Verdean Fashion Week at the Colonnade Hotel, marking the 50th anniversary of Cape Verde’s independence from Portugal.

The event was co-founded by TV host/producer and event promoter Krishna Varela-Poole and designer and entrepreneur Marisa Babcock, with the support of Adelsa Mendes as their business consultant.

The Cape Verdean Fashion Week organizers are working with local leaders to bring the limelight to “Cape Verdean artistry” while enhancing “Boston’s creative scene on a worldwide stage.”

From Oct. 15-18, Boston Caribbean Fashion Week will host a multiday series of fashion events to celebrate Caribbean culture. The focus for the week will be beauty, culture, fashion and style.

Boston Caribbean Fashion Week was founded by Althea Blackford, a veteran fashion designer, in August 2013.

Highlighted events include the Honors Award Show on Oct. 15, the RIZE fashion event on Oct. 17 and a fashion show on Oct. 18. Also, Boston Caribbean Fashion Week will hold a fashion event on Oct. 24 with the Institute of Contemporary Art for Boston Teen Night.

In his decades working with Boston Fashion Week, Calderin has learned that the impact of these programs goes far beyond stitches and patterns.

“We’ve realized over the years that it is more than just clothing. Fashion is really about a lifestyle,” he said. “It includes clothing, beauty. It includes anything and everything that is about how you design your life. That’s really been the fun of it.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at bostonfashionweek.com/