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Columbus, Ohio generally isn't thought of as a major fashion city in the U.S., but the people behind Fashion Meets Music Festival hope to change that.

"Fashion Meets Music Festival launched to highlight and celebrate music and fashion in Columbus -- not only on a local and regional level, but also to position Columbus as a national leader in those spaces," Melissa Dickson, the event's director of communications, told us.

"Just last year," Dickson explained, "Columbus was ranked the third best city for fashion design, so we wanted to leverage that to create an identity for this new music festival. Music festivals are popping up all over the country, but fashion is our differentiator, and we have the resources here in Columbus to highlight the fashion and bring people to the city to appreciate the efforts that Columbus has been cheerleading."

The two-day festival, which will take place on Sept. 5 and 6 at the Columbus Arena District, is an event dedicated to the fusion of fashion and music. This year's festival will feature a lineup of national, regional and local fashion designers, including Linda Rowe Thomas and Kahindo Mateene of "Project Runway," Celeste Malvar-Stewart, Esther Myong Hall, Cierra Lauren, Katelyn McClain, Bryston Walters, Lydia Hopmann and many more.

"Fashion Meets Music Festival is able to provide a national stage for many of those independent designers and partners such as the Columbus College of Art & Design, as well as unique opportunities to collaborate with some of the most recognizable names in the music industry," Dickson told us.

As for the musicians, Young the Giant, O.A.R., SOJA, Allen Stone, ZZ Ward, Rachel Platten, machineheart, Truslow, Nick D' & The Believers, Northern Whale, Kid Runner, The Outer Vibe, LEDGES, Castle Creek, AWOLNATION, Taking Back Sunday, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Lights, Milo Greene, Bahamas, Carbon Tigers, Captain Kidd, Our Vintage Film, The Nearly Deads, Playing to Vapors, Captiva and Reptile Fiction are all slated to perform.

"Music and fashion have always co-existed, but Fashion Meets Music Festival is fusing them in a festival setting to create a truly unique experience for our attendees. We want FMMF to be an immersion into the fashion and music worlds and for the festival to become something that our fans look forward to every year over Labor Day weekend," Dickson said.

The event will feature four outdoor stages, one of which will feature a runway for fashion shows. An upscale fashion tent will also be featured in the middle of the event space.

General admission early-bird tickets for the event, now in its second year, are available for $49 for a single-day pass and $89 for a two-day pass. Early bird VIP tickets run $99 for a single-day pass and $175 for a two-day pass.

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