Our Designers Get Some Action

It's pretty easy to convince the public that the clothes your about to sell are something they're going to want when you've got the proof... in writing. From the "fashion incubator" that St. Louis, MO has created around its fashion week, the buzz Jerell Scott received from Project Runway, the mob of fans Ebong Eka has collected over years of coverage in the DC publications, to the growing respect for L.A. doing its best to carve their own reputation in the fashion world with its own fashion week, or fashion month, as some like to call it, designers at parker+paige have been written (and talked about) from ocean to ocean in every portal of communication possible.

Michael Drummond, designer of St. Louis based knitwear line, the Exquisite Corpse, first received buzz when he won the Project: Design! Competition during Saint Louis Fashion Week last March. Since then, people haven't been able to stop talking about him, most probably due to his creative nature, which has made it possible for him to continuously churn out inspiring masterpieces.

February 20, 2009: "Congratulations to Michael Drummond!" STL Hand Made

March 26, 2009: "And the Winner is... St. Louis Fashion Week" St. Louis Post-Dispatch

March 26, 2009: "Fashion Week Wednesday... Project: Design"  KMOV

March 2009: "Fashion Week Winner" KSDK

April 4, 2009: "St. Louis Fashion Week from the staid to the sublime" St. Louis Post-Dispatch

August 4, 2009: "Interview with Michael Drummond" DIY Style

August 20, 2009: "Backstage at a Hair Show" Corridor 40

October 17, 2009: "The Exquisite Corpse Spring 2010 Collection" Explore St. Louis

October 19, 2009: "The Exquisite Corpse at FGI Presents Evole" Corridor 40

November 30, 2009: "Tat Me Up" Corridor 40


Ebong Eka first decided to try his hand at designing back in 2007 when he received the "2007 Best Dressed Men in Washington" accolade from Washingtonian Magazine. Using the debut of his first collection, Mi Chiamo Eka, as a way to raise money for Hoop Dreams, a charity very close to the basketball player's own heart, he has continued to be a favorite in the DC area publications not only for his flair for style and commitment to Hoop Dreams, but also for the strength of his first collection (Mi Chiamo Eka), and the announcement that he's decided to design a second. This self-titled menswear collection, Ebong Eka, will be a lower price point line of dress shirts and pocket squares perfect to get you by when you're in a squeeze.  Speaking to those affected by the recession, I'd say this accountant's in touch with the people's wants, and their needs.

July 8, 2008: "This just in: Ebong Eka to Host a Charity Fashion Show" Pamela's Punch


July 17, 2008:  "One for the Boys"  Project Beltway 

July 2008: "Ebong Eka to Launch Menswear Label"  Glamazon Diaries

July 2008: "Evening Out in Eka" K Street Kate

August 3, 2008: "Mi Chiamo Eka: The Launch of Ebong Eka's Men's Line this Thursday" DC This Week

August 7, 2008: "Fashion Focused" BizBash Washington

August 8, 2008: "Mi Chiamo Eka is DC City Style"  Associated Content

August 11, 2008: "Mi Chiamo Eka: Ebong Eka's New Line" Jamati

August 2008: "Mi Chiamo Eka" K Street Kate

August 2008: "Mi Chiamo Eka Launches in the Nation's Capital" Glamazon Diaries

October 26, 2008: "Terrell Suggs Knows His Sacks & His Suits"  Pamela's Punch

October 2008: "Birthday Suiting"  K Street Kate

December 1, 2008: "A Night Out: Fashion Forward at Shadow Room" Washingtonian Magazine

February 26, 2009: "And Its Only Thursday" SCENE BisNow

August 16, 2009: "Making It, An Accountant's Flair for Style Helps Tailor a New Career" Washington Post

October 2009: "Ebong Eka: Helping Men Find Their Own Style" On Tap Magazine


Laura Kathleen first got noticed when she appeared as a finalist in St. Louis Fashion Week's Project: Design! Competition last March. Although she didn't walk away with the prize, Laura Kathleen didn't let that stop her. Last Fall, she not only took her line back to St. Louis Fashion Week in October to showcase her Spring 2010 Collection, LK was also invited, and accepted, to showcase her line at Kansas City Fashion Week and the MidWest Fashion Week in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seems her pieces are buzz-worthy after all.

May 3, 2009: "Laura Kathleen" The Good, The Bad, and The Divine

May 12, 2009: "KC Fashion Week Features Area Designers, Boutiques" Wednesday Sun

August 2009: "St. Louis Style" St. Louis Woman Magazine


September 20, 2009: "Interview with Laura Kathleen" DIY Style

October 13, 2009: "MidWest Fashion Week Schedule..."  Haute in the Heartland

October 21, 2009:  "STLFW... All Access Pass!"  Urbanistas-STL 


Project Runway, a reality show that debuted on Bravo and now airs on Lifetime, is a good starting point for emerging designers who want to get noticed, and Jerell Scott did just that. Since being a contestant on Season 5 of the hit series, Jerell has showcased his collection at L.A. Fashion Week, hosted (and judged) St. Louis Fashion Week's Project: Design, graced the cover of ALIVE Magazine, been a guest judge at the Art Institute of CA - San Diego's Liquid Runway Show, partnered with Korlo Momolu at the Little Rock, Arkansas Designer's Choice Preview, participated in the Cinderella Foundation's Annual Fundraiser, Fashion with a Purpose, opened his own boutique, Jane Doe John Doe, in Los Angeles, and dressed stars like singers, Sy Smith and Macy Gray. I'd say this one-time model, now designer starlet is on the fast track for a career that is truly diva-worthy.

September 12, 2008:  "Jerell Scott for Project Runway"  InStyle Magazine

October 2008:  "Project Runway: Jerell Scott, Spring 2009 RTW Shows" New York Magazine

October 2008: "Jerell Scott" Devono Magazine

December 11, 2008: "Jerell and I" Shopaholic Magazine

March 25, 2009: "St. Louis Fashion Week Officially Begins Today" St. Louis Post-Dispatch

October 15, 2009: "Project Runway's Jerell Scott Opts for 'More is More' for Spring 2010" L.A. Times

October 15, 2009: "Runway Report: Project Runway's Jerell Scott Goes Global" Teen Vogue

October 21, 2009: "Runway Trends That Might Actually See the Light of Day" L.A. Racked

October 26, 2009: "BPR Interview with Jerell Scott" Blogging Project Runway

November 7, 2009: "LA Fashion Week. Strutting the plancks... a recap." Scallywag & Vagabond

November 19, 2009: "Latest Love: Jerell Scott" The Lipstick Diaries

December 14, 2009: "Lunch with a Fashion Friend" PoshGlam


St. Louis-native, Michael Shead, another finalist last March in the Project: Design! Competition hosted by St. Louis Fashion Week showcased the follow-up to his debut collection during STLFW in October at Baker's Evolve (sponsored by FGI - St. Louis), but that's not all. He's also modeled next to his collection in ALIVE Magazine's feature editorial for August 2009, was picked as the one of the top 5 designers showing at STLFW in October by Above the Fray Magazine, and has been named the "Local Designer to Watch" by St. Louis bloggers hungry for new talent.

October 10, 2009: "St. Louis Fashion Week Creates Fashion Incubator" St. Louis Post Dispatch

October 14, 2009: "Saint Louis Fashion Week: What's The Big Deal?" St. Louis Post-Dispatch

October 18, 2009: "Michael Shead at Baker's presents Project Evolve" Corridor 40

October 28, 2009: "St. Louis Fashion Week: Why It Rocks" Above the Fray Mag

October 30, 2009: "Local Designer to Watch" STL Fashionista

Erin Tufts a Louisiana native, currently living in the Big Apple, has been in the papers long before making the trek up to NYC. She first received buzz after producing, designing, promoting, and hosting the MacroFashion Showcase an event benefitting the Hunger Project that premiered the talent of local and regional artists in the Louisiana area. Since then, Tufts and her partner, Cassie Conrad, have shown their collection, Nire`, at New Orleans Fashion Week. Erin was also featured in the Designer Spotlight of Scene Magazine this December, and they're not stopping there; these girls have major plans to launch their line.

March 27, 2008: The Times-Picayune