Fashion Forward

Fashion is intricately woven into the very fabric of St. Louis’ rich history. From the turn of the 20th century until after World War II, the hum and clacking of manufacturing machinery echoed through the side streets off Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis, where workers produced everything from footwear and hats to dresses and luxury garments. 

It’s a history and legacy that, since 2014, the Saint Louis Fashion Fund (SLFF) has been working to rebuild — and ensure remains a vital thread in the city’s future.

“We said 10 years ago we want to become a fashion epicenter again — build on our DNA, the roots, the Garment District,” says Susan Sherman, SLFF co-founder and board chair. “I’m someone who doesn’t rest on her laurels. I prefer to look ahead and say, ‘We still have work to do.’”

Yet, in the past decade, SLFF has achieved an abundance of accolades. From raising more than $2 million on the heels of its founding to furthering its work to revitalize St. Louis’ historic Garment District and support of local designers, SLFF has elevated the fashion industry and its role in our local economy. In January 2025, SLFF announced that board member Becky Domyan, who is the SVP-Market Manager at Audacy, would step into the role of executive director for the organization.

Looking back during its 10th anniversary year, Sherman points to early supporters such as Otis Williams at St. Louis Development Corporation, Missy Kelley who was then with Downtown STL, Inc., Rodney Crim at the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, and Jason Hall, who until recently served as CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc.   

“Those are the people who launched us and gave us the legitimacy to go out to the community and ask for additional funding (to get started),” Sherman recalls. “This all goes back to these incredible civic agencies and their belief that we could really do something fabulous.”

Three years after launching, SLFF opened a fashion incubator program at 1533 Washington Avenue, which graduated two cohorts of six emerging designers from across the country (with four of the designers also receiving Arch Grants). If not for the 2020 global health crisis, the program would still be going strong, Sherman adds.

“They lived here, they worked here, they met clients here, we gave them a lot of education,” Sherman says of the program. “We gave them mentors. It was an incredible program.” 

However, the uncertainty of that time kickstarted a pivot that led the nonprofit further into its mission — advocating for the future of fashion and educating the next era of designers. 

“It’s really amazing to see how today, in its 10th anniversary (year), the Fashion Fund has come such a long way,” says Anjali Kamra, founder and creative director of Rungolee, a clothing brand and shop based in Ladue. Kamra, who is actively involved with SLFF, has watched the organization grow under Sherman’s leadership from its very earliest days.

“It’s amazing to see, from incubating and nurturing designers around the country to advocating with our leaders to build back the Garment District here. We have amazing makers in St. Louis, and the Fashion Fund really promotes that,” Kamra adds.

SLFF prides itself on being the leading voice and advocate for more than 800 local fashion-related businesses in the St. Louis area — including brands like Rungolee, The Normal Brand, Summersalt, and so many more — that collectively generate St. Louis’ $7.7 billion annual fashion industry.

“I think where we shine is the actual business,” Sherman says. “How can we help a brand scale and grow right here in St. Louis and achieve success and their dreams? We’re the chief advocate, the chief visionary, the chief voice for fashion in St. Louis and in the region.”

And fashion is big business in Missouri: The state boasts more than 3,500 fashion-related businesses supporting some 86,000 jobs, per SLFF. In April 2024, as part of its year-long events to celebrate its 10th anniversary, SLFF hosted its first-ever Lobby Day at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City to amplify the industry’s economic impact to lawmakers. 

“We took 80 fashion educators, executives, designers from around the state to Jefferson City to introduce the industry to the legislature,” Sherman says. “That was just not to ask for funding, but to say, ‘Here we are, this is what we do.’ We were all there to show the breadth and depth of this industry and to speak as one voice.”

As SLFF celebrates its milestone anniversary and Sherman looks toward the organization’s future, she notes a special focus on continuing to nurture and support emerging designers. That includes working with longtime partners such as Caleres, an international leader in the footwear industry based in the St. Louis area, on such programs: Caleres partners with SLFF on its Fashion Futures program and sponsors its Speaking of Fashion series.

“Caleres has been an avid supporter of Saint Louis Fashion Fund as a leading voice and advocate for the region’s fashion community since its inception 10 years ago,” says Kelly Malone, VP of Corporate Communications at Caleres. “We continue to look forward to sponsoring its annual Speaking of Fashion speaker series in partnership with Washington University, bringing in world renowned designers like Michael Kors, Diane von Fürstenberg, and André Leon Talley, to educate the younger generation as well as the broader design community.”

Sherman understands that these young and emerging designers represent the future of the industry in St. Louis and the state — and she wants to ensure they have the support system necessary to launch, invest, and thrive in the community.

“You’d be surprised how many high school kids are interested in entering the industry, but maybe they’re the first in their family to do so, so we help them navigate that,” Sherman says. “The young people add so much energy to the fashion in this community. These kids are brilliant, so we want to keep them here.”

The centerpiece of SLFF’s community educational outreach is its free Speaking of Fashion series. As Malone at Caleres notes, the series has attracted global fashion icons, including Michael Kors, who visited St. Louis on April 1, 2024, as part of SLFF’s 10th anniversary celebrations. In a conversation moderated by Derek Blasberg, a St. Louis native, journalist, and fashion industry personality, at Washington University, Kors discussed his illustrious career and designs as well as his philanthropic work to address world hunger. 

“What they’ve done with collaborating with WashU for the Speaking of Fashion series, it’s so fantastic for our community at large,” Kamra says. “The Fashion Fund has had a multi-dimensional impact on this community.” 

Looking toward the next 10 years, Sherman hopes to see continued and greater investment in Downtown St. Louis and its once-bustling historic Garment District.

“I still think there’s a lot of work to be done Downtown and in the district itself,” Sherman adds, noting nonprofits like SLFF require funding to help fulfill their advocacy and education work. “I think it could be a real destination for people.”

Sherman believes the missing piece to the puzzle in St. Louis is manufacturing and production. 

“If you’re looking at a pie, that’s the slice that’s missing,” she says. “We train seamstresses, but are there enough jobs for them? We’re always looking at how we can attract and invest in production, and training a workforce for fashion. This is an ongoing conversation.”

Thanks to Sherman’s vision, drive, and commitment to the St. Louis fashion industry, SLFF’s work in the community will only continue to grow. In December 2024, as the organization’s 10th anniversary year of events concluded, SLFF announced the establishment of The Susan Sherman Fashion Scholarship to support future fashion students in the St. Louis area. To date, the scholarship fund has raised almost $40,000.

“I think people thought fashion was fashion shows and fluff, not necessarily what kind of business and business attraction it could bring to St. Louis,” Sherman reflects. “Now people understand that the whole fashion industry is big business. It’s very diverse, great for branding a city, but more about the business.”

In the years to come, Sherman will remain committed to the SLFF’s foundation: community outreach, education, and supporting local designers to make St. Louis a more beautiful and prosperous place to call home. 

“We’re a community that wants to see everyone succeed,” Sherman says. “We have so many people who are interested in helping — we have an entire board, strategic thinkers, media people. And that, to me, is a validation of the work we’ve been doing over the last 10 years. Our message is that we are here to stay, here to grow, here to advocate and here to educate.”

Editor’s Note: In our top photo, pictured from left to right, top to bottom, is Jason Ross, owner, Artemas Quibble in St. Louis; Susan Sherman, Saint Louis Fashion Fund co-founder and board chair; Becky Domyan, SVP-Market Manager at Audacy and SLFF Board Member; Dwight Carter of Gent Men’s Fashion Week and SLFF Board Member; and Anjali Kamra, founder and creative director of Rungolee in Ladue. In January 2025, SLFF announced Domyan as its executive director.