MR_DCFASHIONWEEK

DC Fashion Week history begins with it’s Organizer Ean Williams. Also known as “Mr_DCFashionWeek” on social-media.

Please tell us a bit of your own history beginning with your personal story.

I was born in St. Louis, raised in Chicago and Memphis before making DC my home in 1987 during my last 2 years in the Air Force. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, I worked as a computer engineer for NASA, the IRS, and Verizon before leaving to run DC Fashion Week full time. As a professional model and actor, I ventured into fashion show production and eventually established my clothing brand Corjor International named after my sons, Corey, Jordan, and Ryan. With no legitimate tradeshow established in DC, I trademarked DC Fashion Week and we just celebrated our 36^th season (18 years).

What is your overall goal for the future of DC Fashion Week? 

To become the Olympics of fashion weeks showcasing designer talent from every country. To increase the visibility of Made in DC talent and to stimulate the local economy to rival what New York grosses (currently over 900 million).

How can the public support DCFW’s growth? The support for fashion week is steadily growing with crashing box office records each season and completely selling out before the start of fashion week, in spite of securing larger venues each season.

As a Designer yourself what/who is your main target audience? I mainly target the red carpet clientele however this season I collaborated with my sons to introduce a streetwear collection. I also have a men’s upscale underwear line (Magnum Underwear).

What is the Price range for your clothes? Streetwear starts at $80.00  with an average of 150 per look and my made-to-order collection including wedding gowns goes up to 50k. The average evening dress is between $300 to $800 dollars retail.

Where is your collection being promoted?

Most of my clientele is based in DC (socialites, wives/girlfriends of professional athletes wives, and upcoming celebrities). I do travel to participate in other fashion weeks to promote my brand (Serbia, Ukraine & most recently Amsterdam). I plan to showcase in Philly in two weeks and also consider Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Final question is about Staff. How many assisting you on a day to day basis? I have 3 main staff members (April Miller – Stage Manager, Jimmy Jones -Associate Producer, Ryan Rodgers, Castings and office manager). My team consists of 12 members during fashion week and my volunteer staff of 30.