With the final weeks of preparation for Charleston Fashion Week^® (CFW) 2012 under way, there’s a buzz in the air and reserved seats are flying off the website. And no wonder, the schedule—including more than 45 runway shows, nightly entertainment, and the Emerging Designer: East and Rock the Runway model competitions—is set, and our star-studded panel of judges confirmed.

First up: our powerhouse of a Fashion Panel, who will select the CFW 2012 Emerging Designer: East. This stellar list includes fashion designer and “Prince of Color” Chris Benz (who will also show his spring 2012 collection on Friday, March 23), CFW alum and TROUBADOUR designer Lindsey Carter, designer Mychael Knight (who will debut his bridal line at Saturday’s Charleston Weddings Spring Bridal Show), New York Fashion Week creator and host of Fashion Insiders on SiriusXM Stars Fern Mallis, model and actress Vanessa Lachey, SocialPrimer.com founder and bow-tie designer K. Cooper Ray, haute vintage guru Cameron Silver of Decades and Decades Two.1 in Los Angeles, and ELLE fashion news director Anne Slowey.

Next: the Rock the Runway model competition judges include supermodel and Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Cynthia Bailey, international modeling scout Karen Lee Grybowski, and Charleston native and America’s Next Top Model Cycle 16 runner-up Molly O’Connell.

Wow! What a constellation of savvy fashion experts to determine the fates of our up-and-coming talents. Be sure to join us under the tents for five nights of must-see fashion on the runway and the fashion elite front and center.

For the CFW Schedule, click here.

To read all about our Fashion Panel of judges, click here.

To read more about our Rock the Runway judges, click here.

To learn more about the Emerging Designer: East and Rock the Runway competitions, click here.

To buy tickets, click here.