Jordana Guimaraes is launching Fashion Forward Week from Sept. 8 through Sept. 13 focusing on innovation, storytelling and inclusivity.

Guimaraes is cofounder and former community chief officer of Fashinnovation, a platform that connects the fashion industry through entrepreneurship, sustainability, technology and innovation. A year ago she left the company, which is run by her former business partner and ex-husband Marcelo Guimaraes, who is cofounder and chief executive officer.

She and her new partner, Christopher Hunt, are starting this new project that will overlap with New York Fashion Week, which runs Sept. 11 through Sept. 16.

Guimaraes said the reason she wanted to launch a new initiative during NYFW was that she has been going to fashion week since she was in her early 30s, and for the past 15 years, she said it hasn’t evolved much. “When we look at sustainability, innovation, inclusivity, it’s done in a very small scale, but I don’t feel it’s big enough of a scale to really make an impact or a difference” she said.

She feels it’s important to bring the consumer into the conversation and allow people to interact with brands. In her opinion, runway shows don’t allow for networking opportunities because people just watch the show and leave.

Two weeks ago, she said a light bulb went off while she was doing a project with Julia Kisla Taylor, CEO of The Lions. Together they cohosted “Fashion Insight Trip,” assembled by the Ukrainian government. They took 10 designers from Ukraine to visit such companies as Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Nicole Miller, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Vogue, The Cut, Lectra, Carolina Herrera, LIM College, and FIT DTech Lab.

After conversations with industry people about the current NYFW, as well as changes in the global ecosystem of fashion (tariffs and designers suffering), she realized “that it’s time to bring innovation, storytelling and inclusivity” to fashion week.

Fashion Forward Week will highlight emerging and scale-up brands alongside established labels under one roof. There won’t be runway shows. Each brand will be showcased in a room and will be able to tell the audience their story and inspiration behind the collection, highlighting their supply chain. They’ll have the models interacting so people can see the collection up close.

The event will begin the evening of Sept. 8 with an industry dinner and cocktail. From Sept. 9 to 13, they will feature three brands a day for the five days (15 in total). Guimaraes said they haven’t decided on a New York City venue yet.

Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the CFDA, which owns the Fashion Calendar and is the official organizer of NYFW, declined to comment Monday. KFN (KF Fashion and N4xT), cofounded by Imad Izemrane, has the support of the CFDA and is a strategic partnership formed to re-envision NYFW and build a future-forward platform for American fashion. Phase one of KFN’s plan will be launched in September, and they hope the platform will be fully realized by the end of 2026.  KFN also declined comment.

One of the brands that is participating in Fashion Forward Week is Smart Swimwear. The presentation will include different activations including one for sunscreen that’s good for the ocean. Another company participating is Piper & Skye, an accessories brand.

Guimaraes is in conversations with MasterCard as a sponsor. Other sponsors include Looking Glass, a new tech company that allows consumers to have personal styling of their closets through technology; a Web3 company called Ramm.AI, which brings luxury closer to consumers through tokens and different experiences, and Contour Lab, which delivers sizing and a fully personalized shopping experience online for consumers. She noted that each day will be powered by a different technology that they’re going to bring into these presentations.

After leaving Fashinnovation after seven years, Guimaraes said she took a year’s hiatus and was waiting for the thing that “really spoke to me.”

“And you know, I’m all about impact and community and all of those things. So that’s really the biggest reason why I felt this new fashion week was needed,” she said.

She also said not only will industry buyers and media be invited but also targeted consumers for the particular brand. She said each brand will send her a list of their “super fans” of the brand, and each fan will be able to bring one guest.

Her partner Hunt, who graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology in textile surface design, is an artist and a musician. Guimaraes is also collaborating with The Lions’ Taylor on overall strategic vision.

Guimaraes said she isn’t looking to profit off the first show. “What I want is to put it out for the industry to see what’s possible and where it should be going,” she said. She is planning the event to occur once a year — in September only.

As reported last week, Fashinnovation has launched its “Global Fashion Week Talks Tour,” a series of international curated events to help elevate innovation and entrepreneurship — timed to the four major fashion weeks this fall. The New York Talks will be held Sept. 18. London’s Talks will be held Sept. 24, Milan’s Talks on Oct. 1 and Paris’ Talks on Oct. 8.