12 Louisville-Based Fashion Creatives To Follow On Instagram

Velvet Outlaw

Miranda Deaton started her clothing brand in 2022 with a focus on slow fashion and wearable art. Velvet Outlaw create apparel that is influenced by Western fashion, country music, and 1970s style using upcycled and reworked materials. This queer- and woman-owned business celebrates body positivity and community building, and honors the cultural traditions of Western wear while striving toward sustainability. Follow on Instagram for colorful updates on designs as diverse as bolo ties, jock straps, and dog bandanas, and browse the retail space at Mellwood Art Center.

Fllumaé

Fllumaé is a fashion house founded by the Saidi sisters, Alliiyah, Fahima, Mona, and Luul. The Saidi sisters are refugees from Somalia who came to Louisville in search of better lives. They founded their brand in February 2014 and less than two years later, they were displaying their designs at New York Fashion Week. Fllumaé revealed their 2018 cruisewear collection at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai n 2018. Their elegant drapes make modest fashions that will appeal not only to Muslim women, but also to well-styled women of any faith.

The Web Has No Weaver

The Web Has No Weaver designs with a focus on sustainability and what they call "extravagant self décor," spinning the detritus of our consumer culture into glamorous treasures, with the hope that it will contribute to a more connected and loving future. Thier designs, called "webs" are explosions of bright colors, voluminous shapes, and ornamental maximalism that reclaim physical and visual space for queer people to occupy.

Instagram handles for models (left to right): @ivorysinn, @thewebhasnoweaver, @lawrenlux, @bunbumscum, @tigresse.bleu, @coryliner, @vivim0n, @olympian3, @jackoffkay, @angel004_._

Bedroom Fits

Louisville-based photographer Urban Wyatt — who is also the cinematographer and director of the music video for Jack Harlow’s song "River Road" — has a closet full of masc-leaning fashions. His Instagram account @bedroomfits gives followers a glimpse of exactly what his handle promises: streetwear fits shot in the photographer’s bedroom.

Kentucky Boy Tyler

Lexington native Tyler Webb is a found-materials streetwear designer based in Kentucky. His label Kentucky Boy Tyler released the debut collection “Piecemeal” in 2021, and by 2022, one of his designs was on display as part of the “American Lexicon” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His first solo fashion show was at Fleur de Flea in 2023, and he now designs streetwear for Cardi B, John Mayer, and Louisville native Jack Harlow.

Chellez Designz

Samantha Michelle Greer is a 21-year-old designer who is at the moment the only Fashion Design student at University of Louisville. Her sustainability-focused Chellez Designz includes casual and club wear. "Design is my passion, dream, and life, Greer says. "I love creating and it’s always come very easy to me — especially in designing outfits and creating them. I find peace when creating my art and it's one of the best feelings in the world showing off the wonderful things you've made." Greer wants to expand Chellez Designz beyond Kentucky and "maybe even the country."

Riley's Realm

20-year-old Riley Hamm, who is currently a full-time Fashion Journalism and Design major at University of Louisville, is the designer behind Riley's Realm. "Due to the influence of my mother and grandmother," she says, "I have been a lifelong lover of fashion." She never considered herself a designer until December 2022, when she started a business to share her jewelry and accessory designs. "This has allowed me to celebrate the weird and whimsical sides of style I cling to so dearly. My most favorite part of this process is relating with others through the act of self expression." Follow Riley's Realm on Instagram to stay up to date on drop dates and pop-up shops.

Edwin Ramirez

A queer Chicano multimedia artist based in Louisville, Edwin Ramirez creates “wearable emotional landscapes.” These one-of-one accessories range from statement earrings and necklaces to facemasks and bodices. His work has been displayed at Kore Gallery, The Kentucky Center, and Aurora Gallery, and is in the permanent collection at La Casita Center. His designs — inspired by plant and animal life as diverse as sea slugs, fruit bats, and mycelial networks — have been worn by local musicians, models, and entomologists alike. Ramirez's work is also part of KMAC Couture 2024.

Trevor DeCuir

Louisville-based Trevor DeCuir explores fashion through mask-making, drag, and unconventional materials. "I'm drawn to creating wearable art," he says. "My goal is to craft pieces enabling people to embrace their fantasies. In a world needing imagination, fashion becomes a bridge between reality and possibility, offering escapism through beauty." DeCuir's work is also part of KMAC Couture 2024.

khromo+philia

Kaviya Ravi designs a broad spectrum of accessories, from jewelry made of recycled laser-cut acrylic to hand-spun, hand-woven cotton gauze scarves. A former contestant on season three of “Making It,” Ravi is now dedicated to her color saturated brand that empowers us to "always stay unapologetically colorful." Follow khromo+philia on Instagram and browse designs in person at the Speed Art Museum gift shop.

Anchal Project

Based in the Shelby Park neighborhood — in partnership with the Ajmer, India-based organization Vatsalya — Anchal Project designs at the intersection of sustainability and ethical sourcing. Sisters Colleen and Maggie Clines source recycled materials, organic fibers, and natural dyes, which are then handcrafted by women who are vulnerable to exploitation in India. Anchal Project design apparel like cocoon jackets and ponchos, as well as bedding and quilts that are elegant, endlessly comfortable, and empowering to the women artisans who make them.

Bri Weaves

Bri Weaves is a hand-weaver who balances texture and color to create simple and elegant accessories like cowls, scarves, and wrist bands. She keeps a pair of Nigora goats (named Betty and Boon) who are a crossbreed of Nigerian Dwarf goats and Angora goats. Crossing these breeds changes the fiber produced from mohair to a texture similar to cashmere. Her goats provide fiber for her apparel business. Bri Weaves designs are available at Aurora Gallery and Boutique in Shelby Park as well as Grady Goods in Phoenix Hill.