Models wear dresses designed by Melanie Dubuc (right) who was showing off her first collection at Ottawa Fashion Week. (CBC)

Models wrapped in fashions created by Ottawa-area designers are sashaying through a former courthouse during the first-ever Ottawa Fashion Week.

Rooms in the Arts Court on Daly Avenue are being transformed into change rooms, runways and design showrooms from May 22 to 24, so the public can come in and eye, try and buy local fashions. The festival includes half-hour fashion shows, displays of designer clothing and jewelry, and fashion-related activities.

Rania Abdulla, one of organizers who helped launch the festival, said she wants Ottawa fashion designers to be able to showcase their work in their own city.

"I want to have Ottawa put on the map, in terms of a fashion city," she said. "I'm not saying it's going to be the next Paris or the next Milan. But I definitely want people to think of Ottawa as something more than just a government city."

Hussein Rashid, one of the organizers of the festival, said there have long been fashion designers in Ottawa, and the festival's priority is to present them to the public. (CBC)

Hussein Rashid, a civil engineering student who also helped organize the festival, said that with all the art schools in Ottawa, there have always been a small group of fashion designers here.

"Most people pass by and never really notice," he said Friday. "Our No. 1 priority right now is to bring that front stage and … just present the industry."

Rashid, who is also head of the Canadian International Modelling Agency, said he is proud that lots of larger fashion retailers are now coming to Ottawa, offering styles that weren't here before, and sees those inspiring the younger crowd.

Mélanie Dubuc, who was showing off her first collection, and Stacey Bafi-Yeboa are among the local designers at Arts Court this week showing off their creations.

Several models wore Dubuc's dresses, including a red and black evening gown and a dress with a short, ruffled skirt that Dubuc said was inspired by flamenco dancers.

Bafi-Yeboa is showcasing designs such as a hooded corset wrap called a "snuggie." She said even though she is from Ottawa, most of her sales are outside the city.

"So it's nice to to be able to show people here 'this is what I'm doing,'" she added.