About Fashionista Studios

Our History

From a bold conviction to a national institution — the story of how Fashionista Studios was built on faith, purpose, and an unshakeable belief that the creative arts belong to God.

A Vision Before a Building

Fashionista Studios did not begin with a campus. It began with a conviction — a deep, Spirit-led certainty that the fine and performing arts were not peripheral to the Christian life, but central to it. That the stage, the studio, the runway, and the recording booth were not secular spaces to be avoided, but sacred ground to be redeemed.

Long before the first student enrolled, before the first photograph was taken, before the first program was written, there was a question being asked in prayer: What would it look like to build an institution that trained creative professionals not just for the industry, but for the Kingdom? What would it mean to develop artists who carried both excellence and faith — who could walk into any room in the world and let their light shine in Jesus?

That question became the foundation of everything Fashionista Studios is today.

Our Story

Milestones & Moments

2026The Founding Year

Founded in December 2026

Fashionista Studios was formally established in December 2026, headquartered in Tennessee with an immediate presence in Chattanooga and Nashville. From the very first day of operation, the institution was structured not as a talent agency, but as a training school — a place where models, actors, musicians, artists, and creative executives could receive world-class instruction grounded in a Christian worldview. The founding team brought together professionals with credentials from national and international agencies, certified photographers, licensed hair and makeup artists, and instructors with decades of combined industry experience. The decision to build a school rather than an agency was intentional and theological: Fashionista Studios would not promise jobs. It would build people.

Institution founded · Tennessee headquarters established · Chattanooga and Nashville campuses launched

Year 1Building the Foundation

Programs, People, and Purpose

In its first year of operation, Fashionista Studios launched a comprehensive suite of fine and performing arts programs spanning modeling, acting, music, photography, hair and makeup artistry, fashion design, animation, social media, and more. The institution opened enrollment to students across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., as well as more than 150 countries through its online and at-home training platforms. Instruction was delivered through a combination of online classes, at-home coaching, K–12 online homeschool programming, and the use of community and university-affiliated spaces within each major market. The institution established an enrollment capacity of up to 1,200 students per term — a number designed to ensure that every student received the personal attention and professional mentorship that the Fashionista Studios model demands.

Programs launched across Fine Arts and Performing Arts · Online and at-home instruction platforms live · K–12 homeschool programming established

Year 1Expanding the Reach

Four Cities. One Mission.

From its founding, Fashionista Studios established a presence in four major markets: Chattanooga, TN; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; and Miami, FL. These cities were chosen deliberately — each one a hub of creative industry activity, each one a community where Christ-centered creative professionals could make a lasting impact. The institution also established relationships with major market bootcamp destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Orlando — giving students access to the national and international agency connections that the Fashionista Studios network had built over years of industry experience.

Chattanooga · Nashville · Atlanta · Miami · National bootcamp partnerships established

2026–2030The Road to Accreditation

Structured for Excellence from Day One

Fashionista Studios made a defining institutional decision in its founding year: to structure every program, every policy, and every operational process in alignment with formal accreditation standards from the very beginning — not as a future aspiration, but as a present commitment. The five-year accreditation roadmap targets accreditation candidacy by Year 4 (2029) and full accreditation status by Year 5 (2030). This decision reflects the institution's conviction that excellence is not something you work toward after you have established yourself — it is the standard you hold from the first day you open your doors.

Accreditation roadmap established · Year 4 candidacy target (2029) · Year 5 full accreditation target (2030)

10-Year VisionThe Campus of the Future

A Campus Worthy of the Calling

Fashionista Studios is executing a 10-year campus building plan of extraordinary scope — encompassing over 15,000 acres, several million square feet of building space, and more than 200 buildings and structures. The planned campus includes a grand ballroom, two large theatre stages with patron seating, an opera house accommodating over 5,000 guests, a community arena serving more than 50,000 patrons for concerts, church events, and community programming, six film production stations, fifteen music production studios, and much more. This vision is not a distant dream — it is a strategic plan, funded by faith, guided by stewardship, and built one year at a time. Every decision made in the institution's early years is made with this campus in view.

15,000+ acre campus plan · 200+ buildings · Opera house · Community arena · Film and music production facilities

Founding Team

The People Behind the Vision

Fashionista Studios was built by people who believed — before there was evidence to point to — that God was calling them to build something that had never been built before. Their faith, their expertise, and their willingness to serve are the reason this institution exists.

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Dr. Samuel J. Lombardo

Dr. Samuel J. Lombardo is the founding CEO of Fashionista Studios and the primary architect of its vision, mission, and institutional culture. A PPA-certified photographer with deep roots in the creative industry, Dr. Lombardo has spent his career at the intersection of professional excellence and Christian conviction — building programs, developing talent, and creating pathways for artists and creative professionals to thrive in their calling. His vision for Fashionista Studios is not simply institutional — it is personal. He believes that every student who walks through these doors carries a God-given gift that the world needs, and that the highest calling of this institution is to help them discover it, develop it, and deploy it for the glory of God.

Chief Operating Officer

Achraf Taoussi

Achraf Taoussi serves as Chief Operating Officer of Fashionista Studios, overseeing the operational infrastructure that makes the institution's vision a daily reality. His leadership ensures that every program, every student interaction, and every institutional process reflects the standards of excellence and the spirit of service that define the Fashionista Studios culture. Together with Dr. Lombardo, Achraf has helped shape an institution that is as operationally sound as it is spiritually grounded — building systems and structures that will carry Fashionista Studios through its first year of operation and into the decades of growth that lie ahead.

View full leadership team

"Let Your Light Shine in Jesus."

The Motto of Fashionista Studios

The Story Is Still Being Written

Fashionista Studios is a young institution with an ancient conviction: that God calls His people to excellence, that the creative arts are a gift to be stewarded for His glory, and that the men and women who train here are not just students — they are Angels on Earth, sent to let their light shine in Jesus through the fine and performing arts.

The history of Fashionista Studios is still being written. Every student who enrolls, every program that launches, every campus that opens, every life that is changed — these are the chapters that are yet to come. We are grateful for where we have been. We are expectant about where we are going. And we are certain that the God who called us to build this institution will be faithful to complete what He has begun.

This is Fashionista Studios. This is our story. And the best is yet ahead.

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