10 Female Designers Making a Mark on NYFW

Founder Wei Lin’s family has been in the manufacturing business for 30 years, working with numerous designers and developing a true understanding of creating clothing that’s high quality and comfortable. The other half of PH5, designer Mijia Zhang, often creates outfits based on works of art, such as the FW16 collection, inspired by indoor clouds created by Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde. Lin believes clothing represents identity and works to introduce pieces that can be used in this way; we love that she combines family traditions with modern art to create one-of-a-kind outfits (which we can then wear to be badasses ourselves!).

Katie Gallagher said that as a child, she never wore shoes and hated wearing clothes, but always wore a cat on her head. In high school, she switched from felines to vintage clothing, which she would alter herself. Fast-forward to her present work, and you’ll see Gallagher being called the “Coolest Freshman/Best New Designer” and her looks described as “darkly futuristic.” She is worn by Lady Gaga, can be found in high-end stores around the world, and was named a semi-finalist in the 2009/2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation search for emerging fashion designers.

Ulla Johnson founded her company in 2000, received an early endorsement from Barneys New York, introduced a shoe collection in 2013, and can now be found in retailers across the world. Johnson, the daughter of archaeologists, takes inspiration from her home of New York, as well as from exotic lands such as Morocco, Japan, and India; she even traveled to Peru with her sister and 2-month-old baby to meet with the knitters and factories that help produce the bulk of her designs. Johnson visits twice a year to develop new relationships and new designs. She’s a wife, a mother to three, and known for her attention to detail and construction.

Julianna Bass debuted her work during AW15 NYFW, with Vogue responding that her designs speak to “the woman who isn’t afraid to embrace classic style on her own terms.” Bass studied fashion and costume design at FIT and was named Designer of the Year upon graduation, leading to jobs with Bill Blass, Elie Tahari, Eugenia Kim, and Marc Jacobs. Bass has also been awarded placement in the Gen Art Style Awards and designed a print for Diet Coke that was sold in Target stores. In 2013, she moved from Brooklyn to Berlin, in love with the culture and ready to develop her perspective further. Instant praise for her work, experience with industry leaders, and a wanderlust risk that leads to new designs . . . we like it.

Stacey Bendet’s father ran a textile importing business, so she was always interested in fashion and recalls wanting to make a trouser sexy. Designer Lisa Kline noticed her and, on-the-spot, ordered twenty sets of her same outfit, which launched a 20-item collection, caused Barneys to place an order and led to Andrew Rosen (of Theory) to finance Bendet’s new business, alice + olivia. Bendet is married to film producer Eric Eisner, the son of Disney executive Michael Eisner, with whom she has three children. She splits her time between New York and Los Angeles, practices Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, is a CFDA member, supports the Ronald McDonald House, is on the board of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has been on the Vanity Fair Best Dressed List more than once. All this came from being discovered on the street — talk about good motivation to keep chasing your goals!