HISTORY
Fashion Mamas was founded in December 2014, when Natalie's son Diego was just three months old. A senior editor at the time, Natalie developed the idea to build an exclusive community of like-minded women who understood the unique position of being a mother with a demanding career in fashion. There were so many inspiring, cool moms in her field and other creative professions that she wanted to connect, so she decided to host an intimate brunch for them at The Grove, Los Angeles. The ten women who attended became her first Fashion Mamas members.
Word quickly spread of the first-of-its-kind paid membership program for mothers. Ten members quickly grew to 50, then quickly grew to 100. Today, there are more than 400 members in Fashion Mamas' flagship chapter, Los Angeles, and members range from editors and bloggers to designers and stylists to models and entertainers to artists and makers to creative entrepreneurs and publicists. Here you can ask anyone for a garment rack to borrow for a shoot, and then a babysitter to watch your little one while you're on that shoot — everyone gets it.
As interest poured in from other cities, Fashion Mamas officially launched its New York chapter in December 2015. Today, there are nearly 100 members on the East Coast. Summer 2016 saw the launch of a San Francisco chapter, and to date there are more than 60 members in the Bay Area. Miami followed in 2017, and there are nearly 50 members in that sunshine-filled city. For those who don't live in a Fashion Mamas event city, the FM Global program offers the same member resources and networking opportunities for our worldwide women. Today there are FM Global members across the globe, from Austin to Australia.
MILESTONES
MARCH 22, 2015
Fashion Mamas launched its first-ever Kids Fashion Fair, a unique marketplace that shines a light on today's coolest independent kids brands. The debut KFF took place at The Grove, Los Angeles, and there have been seven shows since then. Each KFF draws hundreds of stylish families and has been the launch pad for many cult-favorite brands. Today, Kids Fashion Fair has hosted more than 20 shows across the country.
OCTOBER 22, 2015
Fashion Mamas officially trademarked the phrase "Mamas Making It" and teamed up with Soho House to host its debut #MamasMakingIt panel, which provides insight on how inspiring women manage successful careers and motherhood. With Natalie in the moderator's seat, the popular panel's first four speakers were Joy Cho, Mandana Dayani, Samantha Wennerstrom, and Sarah Gibson Tuttle. There have been many panels across LA, NY, and SF since then, and speakers have included Catt Sadler, Chriselle Lim, Rebecca Minkoff, and more leading members.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Fashion Mamas partnered with Lululemon to host the launch party for #FashionMamasFitness, a program that offers FM members a fun and encouraging way to squeeze in a workout while their little ones play in the same room (or nearby with assisted childcare). Activewear partners for our FMF series have included Lululemon, Athleta, Sweaty Betty, and Year of Ours.
DECEMBER 1, 2016
Fashion Mamas opened its first retail store, the Kids Fashion Fair Pop-Up Shop. The five-day experience took place in a gorgeous 1,900-square-foot space at Platform Culver City and featured tons of indie kids shopping, a play area, a crafting station, and daily events hosted by FM members. #FMKFFPOPUP received hundreds of visitors during its limited run.
MARCH 26, 2017
Fashion Mamas produced its first art show, which was also the Los Angeles debut of seven-year-old Filipina-Mexican American artist Giana. The show was titled "It's A Cool Cool World" and took place at female creative space Jig+Saw in Downtown Los Angeles. Tons of stylish families attended the show, and it received coverage from a variety of lifestyle platforms, including MISSBISH, Hypebae, and DoLA.
APRIL 15, 2017
Fashion Mamas debuted its new destination event series, Mama Mirage. The Palm Springs celebration was named "the first Coachella event formally billed as family-friendly" by BizBash, and offered Fashion Mamas couples the same fun they'd have sans littles, but in a kid-welcoming environment. 45 families traveled to the desert to experience the magic; relive the day by watching our Mama Mirage video here.
JULY 8, 2017
Fashion Mamas launched its first-ever large-scale conference experience: Mamas Making It Summit. The sold-out event took place at W Hollywood hotel and was attended by 130 entrepreneurial mothers. Speakers included actress, activist, and entrepreneur Jaime King, Australian supermodel and designer Nicole Trunfio, Bachelorette-turned-blogger Ali Fedotowsky. See event photos here.
DECEMBER 5, 2017
Fashion Mamas launched its fourth chapter in Miami. The community features 30 inspiring women, and the sunny city’s FM brand ambassadors include Fridababy CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn, Eberjey founders Ali Mejia and Mariela Rovito, and blogger Jenny Berger. See photos from the launch party here.
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Fashion Mamas hosted its 3-year anniversary, and the exclusive party was attended by nearly 200 Fashion Mamas members. The event also featured Fashion Mamas’ largest group photo shoot, ever. See photos from the party here.
APRIL 14, 2018
Fashion Mamas hosted its second Mama Mirage party in Palm Springs. Timed for the same weekend as Coachella Weekend One, the invite-only event featured 50 Fashion Mamas families, and gifting from Cybex, Saje Wellness, Spiritual Gangster, TOMS Shoes, and many more. See photos from the festivities here.
MAY 9, 2018
Fashion Mamas is always looking for new ways to impact change, and that includes the normalization of cannabis as therapy. In honor of Mother’s Day, we teamed up with Beboe — the "Hermès of Cannabis" — for an exclusive gathering at Reservoir LA that features dining, gifting, pampering, and Beboe treats. See more photos from the event here.
JUNE 3, 2018
Fashion Mamas hosted its second Mamas Making It Summit — a creative conference that celebrates entrepreneurial mothers. Held at The Line Hotel in Los Angeles, the event featured speakers Tamera Mowry, Whitney Port, Alli Webb, Kimberly Snyder, Anine Bing, Chriselle Lim, Geri Hirsch, Caitlin Crosby, and many more inspiring women. See photos here.
JULY 14, 2018
Fashion Mamas hosted a four-day pop-up experience at ROW DTLA, which featured the second Los Angeles show of art phenom, Giana. The 9-year-old talent brought a selection of new works to the event, all showcasing her signature fashion illustrations inspired by magazine ads, portraits, and campaigns. See photos from the show here.
MARCH 8, 2019
To celebrate International Women's Day on Friday, March 8, we hosted members-only #MamasMakingIt panels across four cities: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Miami. Over in L.A., we took over Hills Penthouse on the iconic Sunset Strip in West Hollywood for a morning of inspiring discussions focused on the topic, “Diversity, Community, and Influence Redefined." Moderated by the team at Year of Ours, the conversation featured Talk Cool Moms founder and artist Elise Peterson and Fashion Mamas founder Natalie Alcala. Throughout the morning, attendees enjoyed açai bowls by Sambazon and plenty of bonding and networking, and all guests took home FM x YOS’ ‘90s-inspired baby tee collaboration. See more photos here.
APRIL 29, 2019
Our fatherhood-focused community, Father Collective, hosted a Panel + Hoops session at the epic Jumpman flagship in Downtown Los Angeles. The event featured a fatherhood panel moderated by FIF co-founder Natalie Alcala and starred FIF founding members Garrett Leight (founder of Garrett Leight California Optical), and renowned musicians DJ Hapa and DJ Spider who also host a father-focused podcast, A Tribe Called Dad. See more photos here.
MAY 4, 2019
Fashion Mamas presented its fourth Mama Market — a marketplace filled with unique brands that are meant to inspire creative Mother's Day gifting. This free and public event took place at the gorgeous new Palisades Village shopping center, and featured an influencer hosting committee, crafting with Art Camp LA ("make a llama for your mama"), snacks from Smashmallow, Bella Dahl's gorgeous "Dahl House" pop-up, and tons of unique vendors. See more photos here.
JUNE 8, 2019
Following year one and year two, Fashion Mamas hosted its third Mamas Making It Summit on Saturday, June 8 at WeWork Gas Tower’s gorgeous Break Room in Downtown Los Angeles. #MamasMakingItSummit is an immersive conference for working women (specifically mothers), which offers a day of productive networking and career self-care, jam-packed with exclusive talks and experiences that aim to inspire attendees to take their businesses to the next level. This year’s sold-out show welcome 130 incredible women, 22 brilliant speakers and mentors, 10 hands-only activations, and hundreds of inspirational takeaways. See more photos here.
JUNE 15, 2019
To celebrate all of the fathers, grandfathers, and father figures, we took over the Americana at Brand’s grassy green lawn for a Father’s Day brunch with Fashion Mamas’ dad-focused group, Fathers in Fashion. Hosted by comedian Michael Yo and actor Andrew Walker, the relaxing afternoon was filled with family-friendly bites from Dean & Deluca, healthy juices by Little West (the beverage brand co-founded by the Walkers), a beer booth, cute lawn games for the littles, photo moments, and more.
AUGUST 12, 2019
Fashion Mamas is also known for its activism efforts. In August 2019, we launched our viral #FMGunControl campaign, calling for Senator Mitch McConnell to vote to pass a gun control law. The campaign garnered hundreds of post, prominent press, and his phone line was so overwhelmed with calls that he had to shut the line off. See photos of the campaign here.
DECEMBER 1, 2019
Fashion Mamas recently announced the launch of Fashion Mamas Clubhouse — the first creative space for creative mothers. Located in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, the 1,000-square-foot permanent space opened by-appointment in December 2019. From Fashion Mamas Members-only events to ticketed workshops and mentoring (with childcare by The Nanny League and a chic play space by Wiwiurka and Babyletto), Fashion Mamas Clubhouse offers mothers and their families a new way to connect and create. The space is also available to rent for select photo shoots and events. See photos of the opening here and more photos of the clubhouse here.
MARCH 8, 2020
Fashion Mamas hosted its 4th annual #MamasMakingItSummit on International Women’s Day. The memorable experience took place right before we were all ordered to quarantine, so the day was extra special. See photos from the day’s talks here. One of our big experiments at this year's #MamasMakingItSummit was that we invited toddlers and older kids to join the fun. (In past years, we limited to babies only.) We prepared for big kid energy by booking childcare and creating a beautiful playspace — essentially a mini version of #FashionMamasClubhouse. See photos of the space here.
