For local Fashion Week, ‘Memphis is the host’

By , Daily Memphian Updated: May 01, 2026 9:39 AM CT | Published: May 01, 2026 9:38 AM CT

For Ramona Sonin, her life in fashion started when she was a kid and got her first pair of white go-go boots. 

“That was it,” Sonin says. 


New fashion week puts Memphis culture on the runway


Now, Sonin is creative director of Memphis Art & Fashion Week, which starts May 4 at the Brooks Museum of Art, including a Met Gala watch party, a high tea, aperitifs and, of course, a runway show at the museum. (Full schedule here.)

Sonin, who also created and runs the fashion program at the University of Memphis, joined me on this week’s episode of “The Sidebar” to talk about the event, its origins just three years ago, and how fashion has evolved since she got into the industry.

Take a listen.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“The Sidebar” airs every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. on WYXR 91.7 FM and is also available as a podcast here on the website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Note: WYXR is a partnership between Crosstown Concourse, the University of Memphis and The Daily Memphian. As part of that partnership, I serve on the board of Crosstown Radio Partnership, which owns and oversees WYXR.

Topics

The Sidebar Memphis Art & Fashion Week Brooks Museum of Art
Eric Barnes

Eric Barnes

Eric Barnes is CEO of The Daily Memphian, host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO-TV, host of The Sidebar on WYXR 91.7, and the author of four novels.


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