MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WAFF) – The Alabama Fashion Alliance (AFA) is hosting an event blending style, confidence, wellness, and community.
The Fashion Meets Muscle Shoals event is coming to Simply Healthy Event Center on November 22nd.
The lineup includes an afternoon runway model workshop, followed by an evening fashion show and vendor event, both presented by AFA industry leaders and experts.
New York runway model and mentor Cecelia McLaughlin and Simply Healthy Event Center Owner Charnette Willis joined 48 Now to share more on how this event is bringing fashion and empowerment to Muscle Shoals.
The event will start with a runway model workshop hosted by McLaughlin. The workshop will introduce participants to the world of professional modeling, including coaching on the various types of runway model walks and posing tips for the camera. Males and females aged 13 and up are allowed to participate in the model workshop.
McLaughlin said she wants participants to learn the fundamentals of modeling at the workshop while also gaining confidence in being their authentic selves.
Following the workshop, there will be a fashion show and vendor event where the models from the workshop will walk the runway, and several vendors will be there to present and sell their products.
Special feature fashion designer and founder of the AFA, Ellena LeJeune, will be showcasing her newest LeJeune Signature runway collection at this event.
The AFA is collaborating with Simply Healthy, owned by Willis. It started out as a smoothie and juice bar, but has recently become an event center. While still maintaining a focus on health and wellness, Willis now hosts special event features inside her space, including exercise classes and spoken word and poetry events, while still offering healthy drinks.
Willis said her space focuses on body, mind, and spirit. She said this goes hand in hand with fashion because if you physically feel good, you will look good.
“Fashion comes into play because I feel like if you look good, you feel good, and feeling good is a strategy. It’s about what we put in our bodies,” Willis said.
Willis said she wanted to create a space where people can be healthy and have fun at the same time, which is one of the reasons she partnered with the AFA for the Fashion Meets Muscle Shoals event.
The event is more than a fashion show. It is a way to bring people from different walks of life together to fellowship and uplift, and inspire one another.
“It’s a beautiful thing when all kinds of different people from all different walks of life come together for whatever reason, in this case, a great fashion show,” McLaughlin said.
“They’re able to talk with each other, uplift each other, and inspire each other. I think that is the main purpose and the root of why we do this stuff.”
To hear more about the Alabama Fashion Alliance, Simply Healthy Event Center, the Fashion Meets Muscle Shoals event, and ways to get involved as an attendee, model, vendor, or volunteer, the full 48 Now interview can be viewed at the top of this page.
The Fashion Meets Muscle Shoals event is on Saturday, November 22nd, located at Simply Healthy Event Center at 4109 Sportsplex Drive, with the runway model workshop starting at 2 p.m. and the fashion show and vendor event starting at 7 p.m.
Registration to participate in the model workshop and runway show is $39 per person. To register as a participant, visit Eventbrite.com.
Registration to attend the fashion show and vendor event is $20 per person. To register as an attendee, visit PayPal.com.
For more information on being a vendor at the event or to host an event at Simply Healthy, reach out to Charnette Willis at 256-415-3500 or clwillis444@gmail.com.
Willis said her space at Simply Healthy is open for people to host their own events as long as it is clean, healthy fun. No alcohol is permitted at her venue.
In December, she will also be hosting a night teaching people about how to take care of their finances. She will also be hosting a Christmas party and will be having a vision board night for the New Year.
McLaughlin will be hosting more model workshops and mentoring sessions throughout the year and in 2026.
To connect with Cecelia McLaughlin, visit her website and follow her Instagram and Facebook pages.
To connect with Charnette Willis, visit her Facebook page.
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