While New York Fashion Week [1] brings a great deal of talent and style, the 10 female designers listed here are some of the most inspiring, with seriously badass backgrounds, lives, and journeys. There are women who turned their appreciation of the arts into thriving fashion lines, showing that interests and skills can make for successful careers. There are designers who joined the family biz and/or are raising children, all while chasing their dreams. The list also includes gals who dress beauty queens and movie stars, which is pretty badass in itself. Check out the diverse stories and clothing lines, no doubt they'll inspire you too.
Whitney Pozgay of WHIT
Whitney Pozgay may be the niece of Kate Spade [2], but she used her own skills and determination to make it to Fashion Week. After studying theater at the University of Texas, she moved on to the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons, which landed her a role as head women's designer at Steven Alan. In 2010 she started her own line, WHIT [3], which celebrates unique creativity and artful lifestyles. Pozgay also collaborates with stores and designers frequently, such as her colorful line at Anthropologie [4], an affordable way to rock a NYFW runway designer’s looks! She’s a great example of how to follow in fashionable footsteps and create your own name.
Wei Lin and Mijia Zhang of PH5
Founder Wei Lin’s family has been in the manufacturing business for 30 years [5], working with numerous designers and developing a true understanding of creating clothing that’s high quality and comfortable. The other half of PH5 [6], 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 [7]. 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!).
Iyala Anne of Ane Amour
A native New Yorker, Iyala Anne used the diversity around her to launch her own fashion line in 2013; Ane Amour [8] exists to empower women — women who work, have families and like to have fun, too. Anne travels, searching for expressive materials that can be used to empower and to stray away from normal looks. When she’s not designing and showing at NYFW, she teaches yoga, studies ballet, and sings; her first album, “Run With Love,” came out in 2015. How’s all that for badass?
Shalini Ahuja of Shalini Arts
Shalini Ahuja’s looks for Shalini Arts [9] focus on hand-painted, hand-crafted, environmentally friendly products. Her work fuses elements of the East and the West through biodegradable tanned leather — seen in suede bags and calf-length boots. Ahuja is a member of the Fashion Design Council of India and has been part of several international fashion events, showing that her multi-cultural styles are popular worldwide. We can surely all agree that protecting the planet through bright designs is pretty fierce.
Katie Gallagher of Katie Gallagher
Katie Gallagher [10] said that as a child, she never wore shoes and hated wearing clothes, but always wore a cat on her head [11]. 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 [12].” She is worn by Lady Gaga [13], can be found in high-end stores around the world, and was named a semi-finalist in the 2009/2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation [14] search for emerging fashion designers.
Ulla Johnson of Ulla Johnson
Ulla Johnson [15] 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 [16] 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 of Julianna Bass
Julianna Bass [17] 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.
Barbara Tfank of Barbara Tfank
Barbara Tfank [18] is noted for her brocade cocktail coats and classic dresses in bright-and-bold textiles. It began with Tfank serving as a design assistant and eventually starting her own brand in 2001. Since then, she’s designed for Japanese television commercials, movies, and celebrities like Uma Thurman [19] (her lilac gown from the 1995 Academy Awards is considered one of the most memorable ever), Adele, and Michelle Obama [20]. Tfank was even invited by Obama to serve as a mentor at the first White House Fashion Workshop, part of the Reach Higher initiative.
Stacey Bendet of alice + olivia
Stacey Bendet’s father ran a textile importing business [21], so she was always interested in fashion and recalls wanting to make a trouser sexy [22]. 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 [23]. 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 [24] more than once. All this came from being discovered on the street — talk about good motivation to keep chasing your goals!