Hold on to your hats because Baltimore Fashion Week fast approaches, and Season 18’s designers have been announced.
Baltimore Fashion Week, Season 18 will take place from Aug. 8 through Aug. 14. The designers will present their collections on the final day at The Designer Showcase Series at the historic War Memorial Building in downtown Baltimore.
“We are excited to introduce this year’s designers and celebrate the creativity they bring to Baltimore Fashion Week,” said Sharan Nixon, executive producer of Baltimore Fashion Week and executive director of the Fashion Umbrella Foundation. “Each designer has a unique perspective that contributes to the continued growth of Maryland’s fashion community while inspiring the next generation of creative professionals.”
Throughout the production, designers will work with Baltimore Fashion Week’s team, who will help with fittings, rehearsals, and runway preparation. The showcase will be the culmination of the designers’ hard work combined with expert guidance from BFW’s production team.
Guests at The Designer Showcase Series can expect professionally produced runway presentations with original collections, retail showcases, and up-and-coming design talent.
The 2026 participating designers include:
The Designer Showcase Series – Friday, August 14, 2026
Erin Anderson
Kenya Baker
Tasia Cotton
Shaniqua Hammond
Lloreal Johnson
Laniyah Tooks
The Ones To Watch
Annaya Thomas
Returning Runway Alum
Darrius Hyman-Sanford
The Retail Edit
Sankofa African & World Bazaar
Hyman-Sanford is an alum who participated in Baltimore Fashion Week in 2011. He is returning with a collection created to honor his mother, fashion designer Charlene Hyman, who died in June 2025. Hyman was also a fashion designer who began and built her career in Baltimore. She started Hyman & Hyman Fashion Designers in 1970 and counted icons like Patti LaBelle, Grace Jones, and Jennifer Holliday among her clients. She began the company with her twin sister, Charlen Harvey, and Hyman-Sanford eventually joined and took the reins running the design house.
On Sunday, Aug. 9, there is also a collaborative event with the Walters Art Museum called the Fashion Remix. This free event invites Baltimore fashion designers to create original, wearable pieces based on art in the Walters collection. Guests can view the designs by the finalists, and the three finalists will present their winning designs during Baltimore Fashion Week’s Designer Showcase Series. This year’s Fashion Remix program is built around the “Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture” exhibit at the Walters Art Museum.
Baltimore Fashion Week was established in 2008 to increase access and opportunity in the fashion world. The long-running annual production uses intentional programming and workforce development initiatives to support designers, models, and creative professionals looking for tangible growth in the fashion business. BFW is an initiative of the Fashion Umbrella Foundation, a Baltimore-based nonprofit offering empowerment through educational programs, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and the arts.
The initiative has undergone transformative changes over the course of its 18 seasons. Calling BFW’s next phase one of “intentional evolution,” Nixon emphasized a focus on improving its systems, production standards, communications, partnerships, and guest experience. While not every aspect of those things might be apparent on the runway, they are valuable to the designers, who are central to Baltimore Fashion Week.
“The changes taking place within Baltimore Fashion Week are intentional because the designers and their work deserve a platform supported by strong production, clear standards, and a thoughtfully developed guest experience,” Nixon told Baltimore Fishbowl. “Every upgrade is designed to strengthen what happens behind the runway so that, when each collection reaches the runway, the designer’s vision can be presented with the care, credibility, and attention it deserves.”
Nixon’s approach has always extended beyond the runway to workforce development, designing BFW to create opportunities and connections for the models, beauty professionals, volunteers, interns, production team members, and emerging creatives who participate. The practical experience they gain in communication, preparation, time management, and more serve them in multiple facets of life, professional and personal.
Baltimore Fashion Week’s evolving focus is reflected in its marketing campaign, “The Blueprint” series. Much like a blueprint documents what will be built, Nixon explains that The Blueprint lays out how the designer’s vision is connected to the organization’s changes and the professionals working to bring the production to life.
“The Blueprint series (our marketing campaign) represents more than the plan for a stronger Baltimore Fashion Week,” Nixon told Baltimore Fishbowl. “It reflects our commitment to building people as intentionally as we build the production. Through hands-on experience, professional expectations, communication, accountability, and teamwork, participants develop skills that extend beyond Fashion Week and support how they manage their everyday work, responsibilities, and work-life-balance.”
Tickets for Baltimore Fashion Week 2026 are on sale now.
Editor’s note: This article has revised to reflect the consolidation of dates for the Designer Showcase Series from two nights into one, and the addition of Darrius Hyman-Sanford to the list of designers.
