Berny Martin Founder of Catou Fashion/Midwest Fashion Week & Fashion Community Foundation Bio: For Berny Martin, fashion designer and founder of Catou—an internationally-recognized line of men’s and women’s professional wear—fashion has always been a way of life. After earning a computer technology degree from Purdue University in 2002, Martin realized that his true passion had always been fashion. His lifelong dream came to fruition with the launch of Catou in 2005. Martin has shown his collection on runways all over the world, including Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Munich, and the label has been worn by countless celebrities including Billy Porter, Jim Parsons, Tom Payne, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, just to name a few. Catou has been featured on a variety of...

Carol Bouwer Bio: Carol Bouwer is a successful South African businesswoman and television presenter. Carol Bouwer bags are made in Cape Town and we adhere to exacting standards, using the very best materials South Africa has to offer. Our local team has trained over many years and this artisanal mastery will continue to grow as the brand grows. Job creation is at the core of what we do and we insist on keeping all our production local. We believe that it is important to instill pride in South African brands and that premium brands don’t necessarily always have to come from foreign lands. This is a prime example of beneficiation in action. We pride ourselves on the fact that every signature Carol Bouwer...

Odysseus Shirindza Bio: With over 15 years in the creative industry - Odysseus Shirindza’s background in fashion design has equipped him with the necessary skills to freely and confidently explore various sectors of the creative industry. He’s a dynamic creative thinker with a solutions-based approach to problems and situations. He’s passionate about change and creating efficient work environments through creative solutions while meeting company objectives and bottom lines. His experience is wide, from working as a fashion designer for multiple local brands, a designer at a leading South African retailer, to working in an award-winning advertising agency as a designer and as customer service for a global online retailer servicing the US market. He has also had the opportunity to challenge himself in...

Reggi Xaba Bio: Reggi Xaba is a designer behind the brand iFele. He is an industry veteran with over 20 years in the profession of shoe design. He works at his Durban based studio with a young team of designers and protégés under the company ZETU Shoes, which he founded in 2016 after many years working in Cape Town for major retailers, Woolworths and Truworths as a shoe buyer. The focus of ZETU is production of African aesthetic inspired contemporary footwear for all ages....

Nokwanda Ngcobo Bio: Nokwanda Ngcobo is a Durban-based designer who has grown from strength to strength. Gaining a National Diploma in Fashion Technology, she gained more skills into starting her own lavish label (Wanda Woman). After assisting David Tlale during New York Fashion Week, she resurfaced her previous brand to Nokwanda of 8th Wanda Designs. Lurking beneath a dark appeal, she presented versatile looks that displayed a breath of fresh air with impeccable colors on the runway....

Inga Gubeka Bio: Inga Atelier is in a class and concept all its own. Launched in Johannesburg by Creative Director Inga Gubeka, the brand is the next level of cultivating and celebrating the diversity that resides within the continent of Africa. Now with an international following that continues to expand with each collection, Inga Atelier is dedicated to creativity and innovation for the upscale and fashionably forward....

Heather Marie Designs Bio: Heather Marie… a 1999 chemistry graduate of Butler University, who earned a Masters of Organizational Management of University of Phoenix Dallas Campus in 2005, resigned from corporate America in 2019 to pursue her dreams with Heather Marie Designs. Although Heather Marie Designs was established in 2013 to create custom apparel for numerous brands, individuals and several private labels, Heather Marie… reinvented the brand in 2019 with designing luxurious custom fedoras to have rock star, eclectic and classic characteristics that expand wardrobe essentials. Haus of S.E.L.F. (Stylish Eclectic Luxurious Fedoras) have a drawstring inside sweatband for size adjustments which is excellent for those who wear wigs, hair extensions, braids and/or locs. About her collection: Heather Marie Designs presents: COVERED Bespoke Collection. My inspiration...

Luis Machicao Bio: From Lima, Peru, Luis Machicao has designed attire with elegance and sophistication for 32 years. “I think the classy woman is always in.” Today, he embodies the fashion scene of Charlotte, North Carolina. He showcases collections in Milan, New York, and Paris, and won the Best Designer Award in 2013 at Paris Fashion Week. Machicao designs for actors, public figures, and influencers around the world. He makes everything with a couture touch. “Since I was a little kid I knew that fashion was for me, I was always organized, I color coordinated everything I wore; everything was to perfection. I always showed interest in fashion, but it wasn’t until I had a chance to travel to Paris and assist in...

Danny Nguyen Couture Bio: Lurid fluorescent light spills over a shadowy figure working deep into the night. Exacting needles, spools of fine thread, and luxuriant fabrics find their way in and around the dexterous hands of this diligent artist. Reckless passion is cast aside and replaced by the brutal will of a true fashion designer. To describe Danny Nguyen's talents with words would be as futile as identifying infinity with a number. Despite his now bolstering yet enigmatic personality, Danny Nguyen's foundation in the fashion world is rooted in the soil of humility. He began as a child, under the wing of his mother. Predating his arrival to the United States, Danny would be seen at a very early age cutting fabrics, collecting...

Shawna Marino – Shawna M Designs Bio: Shawna M Designs is a bridal and couture label focusing on timeless elegance and glamour in every one of her gowns. Head designer, Shawna Marino, created the brand with a passion for design after completing a bridal internship in New York City. There she learned the art of bridal and couture gown making and designed her own label. Her brand’s mission is to make anyone wearing her gowns feel like luxury. About her collection: The S/S 2021 collection is focused on classic elegance and luxury in every detail. From exquisite lace to the beaded appliqués that garnish the gowns, these designs embody a uniqueness that is sure to stand out in a crowd. These bridal gowns are a signature collection;...

Masha Titievsky-Dehaan – VARYFORM Bio: VARYFORM is a contemporary womenswear line designed by Masha Titievsky-Dehaan in Chicago, Illinois. The name is derived from the Vary Form Curve Rule, a contoured fashion pattern drafting tool that gets steeper gradually. VARYFORM expresses change over time and the transformative nature of clothing. VARYFORM design is strongly influenced by natural phenomena such as plant growth patterns, wave movement, the structure of crystals, and the reflective surfaces of water and glass as well as the feelings of "the good life" and travel. Her designs transform these natural elements into special staples with a sense of glamour and sophistication. VARYFORM has been recognized by Elle Magazine's Nina Garcia for her signature wool crepe separates and has been printed in...

Between structure and fluidity, transparency and opacity, the new Onora collection highlights the harmony of opposites while remaining faithful to its minimalist and monochrome DNA. We mainly draw our inspiration from architecture, more particularly from the essence of the contemporary architectural movement "Bauhaus" with whom we share a vision and common values: a desire to purify the form in order to focus on the concern for proportion, balance and harmony of shapes, colors and volumes.  This search for "the essentials" pushed us to build our DNA on a set of graphic and refined lines, and the use of sober materials because we believe that the optimization of an impactful appearance is in a meticulously studied simplicity . We want each woman...

Fashion designer, marketer and creative director and CEO of fashion firm JCL Bespoke Couture. A young man who discovered his passion for design when he was 17 years old when he was working at the sewing studio of his father Cristian Lagares, where he was always aware of how the pieces were made and the design process they wore. Studied fashion design at the Chavon high school, marketing at the Universidad Iberoamericana UNIBE and a master's degree in Fashion Product Management and Management at the Instituto Europeo di design (IED) in Madrid. where he learned fashion techniques from large Fashion houses such as Loewe, LVMH and Adolfo Domínguez. During the Covid-19 pandemic his brand JCL have been creating Clothing...

■● My collection is actually composed by LA AUTOCTONA (inspired by my south american roots using natives fabrics with ethnics prints). ●■Macchiavellica #ecofriendly ♻ Our fabrics are natural fibers as Yute, linen , cotton etc mixed with Italian silks and some other materials. We are always trying to improved to couse a low impact in the enviorement. ●■Macchiavellica #animallover Our products are 100% animals friendly , we use sintetic leather for our handbags. Our goal would be that with the sales of every year help the animals from the streets in Ecuador. ●■Macchiavellica #socialproyect The production is handcrafted by a small group of single ecuadorian women which have to mantain their family. They work very fast and our goal...