Atlantic City Fashion Week Celebrates 15 Years of Global Style With Homecoming Anniversary Showcase
Founded with a bold vision to rival fashion capitals like New York and Paris, Atlantic City Fashion Week marks its 15th season with international designers, returning alumni, and community-driven runway events.
ATLANTIC CITY — What began as a bold idea fueled by ambition and a belief that Atlantic City belonged on fashion’s global stage is now celebrating a major milestone.
Atlantic City Fashion Week is marking its 15th anniversary this February with a multi-day celebration that blends international couture, local talent, and a “Homecoming” theme designed to honor the designers, models, and creatives who helped build the event from the ground up.
“We started this at a really good time, but we also started it with a chip on our shoulder,” said Lamont Bowling, co-executive producer and founder of Atlantic City Fashion Week, who has run the organization with his wife Jeana Bowling since its inception. “We felt we were just as good as Paris, Milan, or New York — and we caught lightning in a bottle.”
Since its founding, Atlantic City Fashion Week has grown into an internationally recognized runway event, drawing designers from across the globe and establishing itself as a creative force beyond traditional fashion capitals.
“We have designers that come from all over the world,” Lamont Bowling said. “You’ll see collections from all parts of the world. It’s high-end, runway fashion.”
Mark Tyler
A Community-Embraced Vision
While early organizers were unsure how the city would respond, Bowling said Atlantic City quickly embraced the concept. The event has found a long-term home at the Showboat Resort Atlantic City , a partnership he credits with helping the event expand. “They have the space, and Showboat has been really good to us,” Bowling said. That support has allowed Fashion Week to push creative boundaries — something Bowling says is essential to delivering what he calls the “wow factor.”
Shows will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
- Thursday, February 19, 2026, will highlight children’s couture gowns and sportswear. The children’s showcase will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. est. at the Showboat in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
- On Friday, February 20, 2026, we return to the Showboat for our Runway I event featuring local designers, boutiques, and design students from The Newark School of Fashion Design. Showtime is 7:00 p.m..
- On Saturday, February 21, 2026, we continue our anniversary celebration by featuring an international lineup of designers. The lineup will include Jeconi Jacobs Jeffrey from Senegal and Sandro Giuliani from Italy.
“When you go to fashion shows, they can be boring — there’s a pretty dress, then another pretty dress,” he said. “I want the first-timer to sit up in their seat.”
Mark Tyler
Avant-Garde Meets Inspiration
Atlantic City Fashion Week has built its reputation on showcasing avant-garde and couture designers, many of whom approach fashion as fine art.
“We get a lot of couture and avant-garde designers,” Bowling said. “Because it’s so far out there, it makes you sit up and take notice. I like throwing in a designer who’s an artist more than a traditional designer.”
While many of the designs may not be intended for everyday wear, Bowling says the experience itself is the point.
“People may not wear it to work, but they’re going to enjoy it and be inspired,” he said.
This season’s international lineup includes designers from Nigeria, Senegal, Italy, and the Caribbean, adding fresh global perspectives to the runway.
“Our fashionistas return because they want to see that little extra,” Bowling said. “The collections are always new. The designers are always new. We always have something new for our regulars.”
A 15th Anniversary Homecoming
The 15th anniversary celebration carries a fitting theme: Homecoming.
“We’ve invited past models, past designers — it’s going to feel like a college homecoming,” Bowling said.
The milestone season will feature four runway events across multiple venues, beginning with a Black History Month showcase highlighting student designers at Rowan College at Burlington County, followed by children’s couture, local designers, and an international runway finale at Showboat Hotel. The Atlantic City High School Band will close out Saturday night’s show, underscoring the event’s deep community ties.
Presented by KingBee Media LLC, Atlantic City Fashion Week continues to blend high fashion with education, culture, and opportunity — a formula that has sustained it for 15 seasons and counting. To purchase tickets, visit the website for Atlantic City Fashion Week.
“Atlantic City Fashion Week has always been about more than clothes,” Bowling said. “It’s about creativity, community, and showing the world what’s possible here.”
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