Natalia Fedner, who grew up in Bexley, has been selected as the lead designer for Columbus Fashion Week in 2022.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — There’s a certain buzz around this year Columbus Fashion Week.
“I’m so excited because it’s another year of showcasing the amazing talent that Columbus, Ohio has,” said Thomas McClure, executive director and founder of the fashion event he created 13 years ago.
McClure first announced the 2022 headliner on CBUS’ Wake Up on Friday. this Natalia Fednerwho grew up in Bexley but now works in Los Angeles.
“She’s an amazing and very unique designer who works with a certain type of textile, and she’s dressed Beyoncé, J. Law, Shakira, Kim Kardashian,” McClure said excitedly. “And she’s doing it in Los Angeles, representing Columbus, Ohio.”
Fedner told Wake Up CBUS host Angela Ahn the first famous customers were Jennifer Lopez and Pamela Anderson, who bought Fedner’s entire first collection.
“It’s an all-metal textile that stretches in six directions,” Fedner explained, holding a piece of fabric in her hands. “So left, right, up, down, but also backwards and forwards. And that allows it to take the shape of what you put it on, almost like sand.”
Fedner said she now has a patent for her signature elastic metal, which has graced the covers of major fashion magazines and other celebrities such as Cher, Sharon Stone, Lenny Kravitz and Taraji Henson.
“I have to give credit to my parents,” Fedner said. “They’re both engineers, so I think I have a bit of that engineering brain.”
Alla Fedner, Natalie’s mother, displayed some of the artwork her daughter had worked on as a child growing up in Bexley.
“I always supported her,” Alla said. “She was very good at jewelry from the age of two.”
She added that the aspiring designer often cut T-shirts and other clothing that fueled her passion.
“That’s why we came to the country, and I’m so proud of Natalya, because that’s what it means to come to America to make your dream come true,” Alla said.
Fedner was just 4 years old when her parents left Ukraine to start a new life in Ohio.
At first, it was difficult for the family, and it was difficult for her to accept help. But Fedner said the kindness of strangers is the reason the Bexley graduate is organizing a fundraiser for refugees fleeing the current war in Ukraine during Columbus Fashion Week.
“I feel like the best thing we can do when we feel helpless is to do something, and there’s only so much you can do,” Fedner said proudly, reflecting on her past as a refugee child.
“I’m so grateful to Columbus Fashion Week for giving me this incredible platform where I can continue to spread the word and raise funds and do it in my hometown,” she added.
Click here to learn more about Columbus Fashion Week and the nine other designers who will grace the catwalk with their new collections.
The event takes place on October 9-14. 10 TV presenters Angela An and Yolanda Harris will participate as presenters for the High Fashion Tea and the finale.
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/fashion-week-columbus-hollywood-designer-central-ohio/530-3c9b23ad-9bfa-45c2-b855-8738e99b5bfe
