The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, presented in partnership with Nashville Fashion Week, will host a conversation with designers Marina Toybina and Maria “Poni” Silver. The program, “Suiting the Sound: Designers Marina Toybina and Maria ‘Poni’ Silver in Conversation,” will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater. Reserve your free ticket here.
Country music performers have been turning heads in custom-designed stage wear since the late 1940s. During this program, moderated by Museum Writer-Editor Angela Stefano Zimmer, Toybina and Silver — who both work with Carrie Underwood and other musicians — will discuss their careers and their design processes. Underwood is loaning stage wear created by both designers for display during the program.
Toybina is a seven-time Emmy-winning costume and fashion designer who has collaborated with Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, P!NK, Taylor Swift and many others, as well as on television shows such as “The Masked Singer,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The X Factor.” She is also a judge and mentor on the Hulu competition series “Dress My Tour.” Toybina is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and launched her first fashion line, Glaza, while still in school. Her work has been featured in various magazines including Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, People, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue and Variety.
Silver is head of wardrobe for Underwood’s REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency and has also designed stage wear for Ruby Amanfu, Adia Victoria and others, as well as for the Nashville Ballet production “Seven Deadly Sins.” She is a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate and Nashville Fashion Week’s 2017 Nashville Fashion Forward Fund recipient. Designs from her brand, Black by Maria Silver, which launched in 2011, have been featured in Elle, Glamour, Vogue and other publications. Silver is also a musician: she has been a touring drummer since 2004 and has recorded six albums.
Separately, the museum also has a free-to-access online exhibition, Suiting the Sound: The Rodeo Tailors Who Made Country Stars Shine Brighter. Drawing from the museum’s galleries and extensive collection of stage costumes and archival materials, the exhibition examines the dazzling artistry of western-wear designers whose couture fashions helped create an indelible image for country music.
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