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Orlando’s Fashion Moment
Is Orlando starting to become a fashion city? In recent years, there’s been a subtle but striking evolution in how our city shows up. From unique locally owned boutiques in Winter Park to fashion pop-ups. It’s a shift you can see and feel. To dive into this question, The Orlando Life met up with Nayrouz Olarte, Founder of the Florida Fashion Shows.
A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in California, Nayrouz’s journey started early. “I knew I was going to get into fashion when I was very little,” she says. “I remember throwing my own birthday parties just because I wanted to pick the best outfit.”
Nayrouz spent seven years in Los Angeles working in fashion before moving into hospitality, but her passion for it never left. “I knew one day I would go back to doing something in fashion because it fills my cup.”
Now here in Orlando, she’s building an ecosystem where designers, creatives, and those curious about fashion can have a place to connect. Her work with the Florida Fashion Shows is helping fuel a city quietly blooming into a fashion destination of its own.
Orlando is starting to look different
“Orlando’s becoming cool,” Nayrouz said, during her interview with Siria Andino at Helena Modern Riviera, a beautifully styled locally owned restaurant in Icon Park. “Even here at Helena, you come on a Saturday for brunch, and it’s filled with fashionistas. Everybody’s dressed to the tee.”
This isn’t the Orlando of ten years ago, she pointed out. “We’re not going to brunch with flip flops and shorts anymore. It has changed. Everyone dresses up.” Places like AVA and Winter Park’s boutique lined avenues reflect this shift in both aesthetic and attitude.
Siria agreed, “People aren’t just moving here to be at the parks every weekend anymore. It’s evolved. Now they’re asking, are we doing what we love?”
A growing number of New Yorkers, Californians, and Miami expats are bringing their tastes and expectations with them, shaping a more fashion forward culture. “I’ve seen a lot of people move here from New York,” Nayrouz said. “And it’s a different kind of crowd. They’re doing different things here now beyond just hospitality.”
Local talent is leading the way
At the heart of this evolution is Orlando’s creative community, with local designers gaining momentum and support. “Our local designers always go first at our shows,” Nayrouz emphasizes. “They’ve been our biggest supporters.”
Names like Claudia Gutierrez, Inna Rudenko, and Denia Carmona are helping define Orlando style. “Even with my pregnancy now, Inna has custom made my outfits to keep me fashion forward. She’s amazing with colors, amazing with knowing your body type,” Nayrouz said.
Local boutiques like Sultre in Winter Park also make the list, along with emerging talent like Esteban Ruiz. “He’s incredible and so young and so talented,” Nayrouz said.
And then there’s The Wardrobe at the Four Seasons, a boutique that's raising eyebrows in the best way. “The buyer actually lives in Orlando, which never happens at luxury hotels,” Nayrouz explained. “I just attended an event there where Brazilian designer Patricia Bonaldi flew in to meet shoppers. That’s the kind of shift we’re seeing.”
It’s all about community
“Every show we do is really from the bottom of our heart,” Nayrouz said. “Every designer we choose, we get to know them. We spend time with them.”
That attention to detail has paid off. In the beginning, convincing designers to come to Orlando wasn’t easy. “This year has been a completely different scenario,” she said. “They’re coming to us and saying, ‘Hey, we want to come to your shows.’”
The venues are leveling up too. The upcoming Florida Fashion Shows will be hosted at the Orlando Porsche dealership and at the Garden at Lake Nona’s Wave Hotel, a location that Nayrouz says has “a very Gucci show vibe.” She’s dreamed of doing a show there since the hotel opened, and this year, her team will be the first to make it happen.
Orlando is growing up
“I really am in love with our city,” Nayrouz said. “Some of our family members who live in New York think I work for the city because I promote Orlando so much. You can have that fabulous life, and that family life. And it’s rare to live in a city where you can have both.”
It’s here that fashion is playing a role in that balance. Beyond clothes, it’s about self-expression, identity, and community. “Clothes make me feel happy,” Nayrouz said. “Even when I’m at home, sometimes I’m in heels, even if I’m wearing a robe. I like to feel good.”
Fashion has the ability to make you feel something. That joy, that sense of self, it’s something more people are tapping into here. Maybe that’s why, here in one of America’s most visited cities, people are beginning to look around and think, Orlando is having a fashion moment.
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