For Philly Fashion Week, we look at 10 local clothing and accessories designers to watch

Philly’s fashion scene is in the midst of a rebirth. Our designers are selling sneakers at Neiman Marcus, setting up pop-up shops, and debuting collections on New York and Philadelphia runways.

Early next month, Philly Fashion Week founders Kevin Parker and Kerry Scott will open a permanent 5,800-square-foot specialty boutique exclusively selling apparel by Philly designers. Maison Philly Fashion Week will be housed in the Fashion District’s mezzanine, featuring 31 designers. A manufacturing facility, complete with eight sewing machines and cutting tables, will also be nestled in the back of the boutique, giving up-and-coming Philly designers who are members of Maison Philly Fashion Week access to small-batch manufacturing. How can you grow a sustainable business designing clothes without a place nearby to make them?

“It’s an exciting time for Philly fashion designers,” said Parker. “We have been trying for years to provide more support for our style community. “Our dreams are really coming to fruition.”

Philly Fashion Week’s 19th season takes place at the Fashion District and Live! Casino & Hotel Wednesday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 25. Check out 10 of the region’s women’s, men’s, and accessories designers making waves (and sales) on Instagram, in specialty stores, and on the rich and famous.

Project Runway All Star alum Prajjé Oscar Jean-Baptiste introduced gender neutral streetwear to his 2024 Prajjé Oscar line, a departure from his elaborate special occasion gowns. This collection, Revolūtiō — the Greek word for revolution — is a nod to the Haitian Revolution of 1804, and the recent construction of a canal on the Massacre River, a body of water Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic. The trade generated by the new canal will potentially boost Haiti’s economy, bringing much needed jobs and progress to Jean-Baptiste’s beloved homeland. Revolūtiō mixes camouflage and one-of-a-kind floral prints with black joggers, tennis skirts, wide-legged trousers, and sheer sheath gowns. Couture pieces are priced to order, but Jean-Baptiste offers a selection of ready-to-wear collections with prices ranging from $65 for a pair of slides to $3,750 for a full-length origami puffer jacket.

“We wanted to have something for our special occasion customers to pick up her kids from soccer practice,” Jean-Baptiste said. “But we also wanted something for her to wear at her wedding.” Jean-Baptiste, who just showed at New York Fashion Week, will debut his collection in Philadelphia on Sunday.

🌐https://www.prajjeoscar.com/en, 📷@praje_oscar, 📧info@prajjeoscar.com, 📞347-770-0379, 🏛1400 North American St., Suite 106, 💰💰💰💰

Music and handbags are partners in style. Enter former Philly publicist Laura Price’s upcycled handbag line, RemixedbyLP. Price, 42, takes vintage designer handbags and superimposes old school icons — from Elvis Presley to Janet Jackson — on them through a decoupage process. The Wildwood Crest-based designer collaborates with Philly rappers Schoolly D and DJ Too Tuff from the legendary Tuff Crew. Prices range from $150 to $600, and each clutch is one-of-a kind. Not sure what do with that classic Louis Vuitton or Coach? Get Price to remix it.

🌐 https://remixedbylp.bigcartel.com/products, 📷@remixedbylp, 📞609-435-5206, 📧remixedbylp@gmail.com, 💰💰

Darrell Alston’s Bungee Obleceni high-end sneakers were popular with stars like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ludacris, and Nick Cannon, and sold at Footlocker and Neiman Marcus. This year, the Philly-based designer is expanding his luxury brand to Philly sports teams. He launched Bungee USA last fall with kelly green jerseys, sweatshirts, and kicks, a nod to the Eagles. The $250 green cashmere and wool jerseys were such a big hit, he will debut a collection of red vintage-style shirts and jerseys in honor of the Phillies. Featured items include a fitted button-up paying homage to Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and a striped jersey showing love to left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton. Alston’s unconventional road from prison inmate to fashion entrepreneur will be the focus of a VH1 My True Crime Story episode, airing Tuesday, March 5, at 9 p.m.

🌐bungeeusa.com, 📷@bungeebrand, 📧 thinkbig@bungeebrand.com, 🏛 by appointment only: 2930 Jasper St., Suite 204, Jasper Studios, 💰💰💰

Mechanic Steve Akins started sewing to make Halloween costumes for his kids more than 20 years ago. Today, the Chester-based designer’s Paragon Charisma line features jeans and overalls for the workingman fashioned from selvage denim. Akins makes Paragon Charisma’s roomy straight-leg jeans, varsity jackets, and track suits in a 1,200-square-foot studio on Singer sewing machines he copped a few years ago from a Woolrich factory asset sale. He’s planning a series of intimate pop-ups at local stores this year. Paragon Charisma isn’t cheap, priced at more than $500 for a pair of jeans and $1,000 for a varsity jacket, but Akins hopes clients appreciate the attention to detail and made in the USA label.

🌐paragoncharisma.com, 📷@paragoncharisma,📧 info@paragoncharisma.com, 💰💰💰💰

When Beyoncé Knowles subtly dropped the news during Super Bowl LVIII she was recording a country western album and started rocking a mixture of wide-brimmed fedoras and open crown chapeaus to promote her new cowgirl style, Rasheda Hall-Clark’s heart jumped a bit. Business is about to boom! A funeral director by day and milliner by night, she started her hat journey more than a decade ago, inspired by Alicia Keys’ natty toppers. During the pandemic, Hall-Clark built her passion into a business, with prices ranging from $130 to $575. Fashioned from wool, felt, beaver, and rabbit, SheWorkz hats have factored into the red carpet looks of actress Garcelle Beauvais, rapper Jim Jones, and actor Jabari Banks, among others. Hall-Clark recently opened a showroom in Sherman Mills and look for her collection on the Philly Fashion Week runway this weekend.

🌐www.sheworkzboutique.com,📷@sheworkz.tpmc, 📧iamshe@sheworkz.boutique,📞484-430-1736, 🏛 by appointment only: 3502 Scotts Lane, Building 16, Suite, 212F, Sherman Mills, 💰💰💰

After 10 years in the trench coat game, American Trench’s owner Jacob Hurwitz reconstructed his classic raincoat design, devising a new fit that’s neither “too slim, nor too bulbous.” The roomier — but still traditional — American Trench is available online and at the brand’s new specialty boutique in Ardmore. The coat is available in a basic wax cotton for $598 and a sleek ventile cotton for $849. Also this spring, look for a hoodie collaboration between American Trench and Norristown sportswear brand Camber, and a collection of classic men’s topcoats in navy and herringbone.

🌐 www.americantrench.com, 📷 @americantrench, 📧 info@americantrench.com,📞 484-413-2170, 🏛 15 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, 💰💰💰

Hamid Holloman has low-key outfitted Freeway, Malcolm Jenkins, and the Wu-Tang Clan from his Kensington studio. But has he ever dressed Method Man? “He’s the main one,” Holloman said, explaining with glee how he dressed Clifford “Method Man” Smith in cargo pants and vests from his eponymous menswear line on several occasions. Holloman’s collection is a modern take on classic Islamic men’s clothing, featuring tunics and trousers in denim, wool, and printed fabrics he often fashions into patchwork patterns. He also specializes in classic hoodies and baggy jeans. Prices range from $80 for a hoodie to $825 for a lambskin leather bomber jacket.

🌐hamidholloman.com, 📷 @hamid_holloman, 📧 info@hamidholloman.com,📞267-670-5551, 🏛 by appointment only: 2930 Jasper St., Suite 405, 💰💰💰

It’s the triangle strap that makes the Jurgi handbag special. “Whether it’s on a clutch or a tote, it’s my special ingredient that elevates my bags,” said Rittenhouse Square-based handbag designer Jurgita Stahlecker, founder of Jurgi handbags. Stahlecker worked for a Turkish accessories brand before moving to Philadelphia in 2019 and falling in with the fashion crowd including designer Bela Shehu and Philadelphia Trunk Show founder Colleen Wyse. She launched Jurgi in 2021. The Lili bag, a square bag with a small handle that gives Jackie Kennedy vibes, starts at $230 and is the brand’s bestseller. (The pink version was particularly popular with the Barbiecore set.) Rachel Blanchard, star of Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, carried it for the season 2 premiere. Stahlecker is introducing a new beach bag and tennis bag for the fashionable pickleball crew.

🌐jurgibrand.com, 📷@jurgi.brand, 📧 hello@jurgibrand.com,📞267-593-9915, 💰💰

There are pieces in Atelier H a girl doesn’t know she needs until she sees them: belted, kimono-style dresses; silken wide-legged trousers; knee-length frocks with bell sleeves, ruffled hems, and pockets, all in bright, one-of-a-kind prints made from polyester satin. “This is not a runway collection, it’s a practical collection,” explained designer Himanthi Wanninayake, founder of Bryn Mawr-based Atelier H. “It’s upscale boho chic meets west.” Wanninayake, who moved to the States from Sri Lanka more than 20 years ago to study fashion, sells clothing in sizes XS to XL. Items retail for $150 for a blouse to $350 for a dress. Some pieces are fitted with tailored bustlines, while others drape more for women who desire a more modest look. Wanninayake will be showing her collection this weekend at Philly Fashion Week.

🌐 https://www.himanthi.com, 📷 @atelier.h.usa, 📧 Atelier.h.usa@gmail.com, 💰💰

Elegant, sexy, and timeless: that’s how Dominican Republic-born designer Jeanette Limas describes her easy-to-wear collection of jersey dresses that gives Norma Kamali comfort and Versace seduction. Limas, who worked for Urban Zen Donna Karan after attending the Parsons School of Design, placed fourth in Amazon Prime’s Making the Cut. She is completing her second year in residence at the Philly Fashion Incubator and is in talks with women’s specialty stores in Philadelphia to pick up her collection, which ranges in price from $275 for a blouse to $1,300 for an evening gown. Limas is planning to debut her spring 2025 collection at New York Fashion Week in September, but before that she’s bringing back her shirt collection, with a focus on the crisp white shirt this spring.

🌐https://www.jeanettelimas.com/, 📷jeanettelimas, 📧JeanetteLimas@gmail.com, 💰💰💰💰