Women are the fastest-growing demographic in the firearms industry. So how has the industry responded? According to Kami Kay Kirschbaum, owner of The Safe Civilian and a co-founder of Project Gunway, mostly by doing the same thing over and over: shrink it and pink it. Take a product built for men, make it smaller, make it pink, and call it a women's line.
“There's so much more to it than shrink it and pink it,” she said.
On January 18, 2026, a group of women set out to change that conversation, and they did it on a runway. Project Gunway, an invite-only event hosted at The Range 702 in Las Vegas to kick off SHOT Show week, was billed as the first-ever concealed carry fashion show. It put female-owned and female-focused brands front and center, with firearms influencers modeling gear built for self-protection in every form, not just firearms.
Six Months From Idea to Runway
Project Gunway is a collaboration between three women who each built a business around protection. Kami's company, The Safe Civilian, makes everyday protective wear, including cut-resistant scarves, concealable body armor, location necklaces, and newer additions like drink-cover scrunchies and an emergency vehicle escape bracelet. Tamkin Collins, founder of Cakes Concealed Carry, designs handbags built for discreet concealed carry. Kris Chanski owns The Range 702 in Las Vegas, which hosted the debut. All three had been carrying pieces of the idea for a while. What they hadn't done was bring those pieces together. That's where Jonny Turnbow of Clearpath Marketing came in. He connected the three women to get the show started, then stayed on to help with marketing, photography, and production.
Once they committed, the clock was tight. The team had roughly six months to build the whole thing from scratch: securing the domain, building the invite list, landing sponsors, casting models, and planning the show itself.
Kris's background with Cirque du Soleil proved to be a secret weapon. Producing a live, high-energy show on a deadline is a different skill set than running a range, and that experience helped turn an ambitious concept into a polished production.
Built for Every Woman in the Community
The mission behind Project Gunway is simple: make sure every woman in the firearms community sees herself represented, and give her a place where she belongs. The numbers back that up. National Shooting Sports Foundation retailer surveys found women made up about 40 percent of first-time gun buyers in early 2020, and more than a third of the 5.4 million first-time buyers in 2021.
The founders saw a gap between the numbers and the response. Women keep coming into the industry faster than any other group, yet little has been done to meet them with products, design, and spaces built around their needs.
Project Gunway is meant to be that space. Beyond the runway, the goal is collaboration: connecting women, brands, and designers so new ideas can take shape. The team says more designs and innovation are on the way.
The Hottest Ticket of SHOT Week
Year one proved the demand. Year two is going bigger.
Project Gunway returns Sunday, January 17, 2027, once again kicking off SHOT Show week in Las Vegas. The show has already outgrown its first venue and is expected to be more than double the size of the debut, with more brands, more models, and more pieces hitting the runway.
And it's more than a runway. Organizers are promising a full red-carpet night: cameras flashing, luxury cars pulling up, and influencers and industry leaders stopping for interviews before the lights hit the stage. The event's own website calls it the “Met Gala of the 2A space.”
The lineup is all women, and it's stacked: Olympians, firearms instructors, MMA fighters, female SWAT officers and law enforcement, and veterans, alongside firearms creators who together reach millions of followers. With names like UFC star Valentina Shevchenko on Project Gunway's model roster, the only real question is who else will hit the runway this year.
Getting in won't be easy. Tickets are invite-only and password-protected, reserved for women-focused brands, 2A influencers, industry professionals, media, and VIP guests. Everyone else can try for a spot on the waitlist by messaging Project Gunway on Instagram, and a public viewing area will be open for those who don't make the list.
If the first show proved the demand was there, the second is set to prove it's here to stay. Shrink it and pink it had its run. Project Gunway is building what comes next.
Learn more at projectgunway.com, thesafecivilian.com, and cakesconcealed.com.
