March 17, 2015

Ashli Reese launched her clothing line, Mars & Venus, after graduating from our graduate program in Fashion Design in 2014. Now, having been selected as one of four Designers-in-Residence at Macy’s Philadelphia Fashion Incubator, Ashli will be spending the next year building her brand and taking advantage of access to office and design/work space, a showroom, curriculum, mentoring, and other resources that will help her gain the essential business tools to maintain, manage and grow a successful fashion company.

While at Drexel, Ashli had the opportunity to work for LoBu Mau with designer Nicole Haddad, which inspired her to launch her own brand. Mars & Venus is an effortless and wearable line that invokes the chemistry of attraction between men and women, taking a special focus on shape, vision, fabric, texture and colors. When she isn’t designing, Reese finds opportunities to engage with the community and connect with and inspire other young emerging fashion designers.

The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator is hosted by Macy’s in Center City and exists to support and promote emerging fashion designers and Philadelphia’s fashion community. Four local designers are selected annually for a one-year residency. In addition to access to work and showroom space at Macy’s, the Designers-in-Residence engage in workshops that focus on the core components of how to build a brand, sustain a business, and break into the fashion marketplace. The curriculum delves into trend forecasting, retail pricing, cost/value analysis, distribution channels and finance management, as well as profit margins, markups, sourcing and production.

“I can't tell you how excited I am to be blessed with the opportunity to be a part of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator. I plan on building business relationships with influential people in the industry who can provide golden nuggets on how to build a successful fashion brand, and absorbing as much knowledge and exposure as possible while a part of the program," Reese said.