Photograph courtesy of Evelyn Brooks.

What: Jewelry—including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings—for men and women that combines Peruvian culture with modern design.

Who: Evelyn Brooks, 33, an Alexandria-based designer who grew up in Peru watching her father operate his jewelry business. She never thought she would follow in his footsteps, but now she’s an award-winning designer.

Where to buy it: On her Web site, ebrooksdesigns.com, and at these area boutiques.

Turning point: Before considering jewelry design, Evelyn was a United Airlines ticket-sales agent in Mexico City for two years. In fact, on September 10, 2001, she was on the same plane, United Airlines Flight 93, that would be part of the next day’s terrorist attacks. She spent September 11 working at an airport in Mexico where hundreds of people were left stranded. A month later, she was laid off and returned to Peru, where her father encouraged her to create her first designs.

One of Kymberly Davis' designs.

What: Classic pieces and custom clothing for men and women, including bridal wear, evening wear, and business wear, as well as alterations. Also custom home decor, including drapery and upholstery.

Who: Kymberly Davis, a budding designer based in Fort Washington who currently works as an executive assistant for a contracting company. Davis works an early shift so she can focus on her designs after work and on weekends.

Where: Learn more about Davis at her Web site, kdavisdesigns.com, and place an order by calling 202-680-4943.

Early beginnings: When Kymberly was in elementary school, her aunt taught her to sew, and what started as a hobby became a passion. She’s still in the process of becoming a full-time designer, which has proven difficult at times: “I’ve been sewing for over 20 years. It’s been a while, and it’s much more challenging when you have to work another job.”

The art of fashion: Kymberly’s ultimate goal for her work isn’t mass production. She enjoys not only the design aspect of her business but also constructing garments. Her clientele is mostly executives, so she often designs suits, but she has also made clothes for weddings.

What: L~Shandi Designs, brightly colored women’s clothing with unique patterns—everything from dresses to tops to clutches. The name is derived from lepa shandi, Nigerian street slang for a woman in flattering or sexy clothing.

Who: Lara Akinsanya, a 31-year-old biochemist by day and fashion designer by night. She works in HIV clinical research and never really dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, but she decided to create clothes that worked for her: “I just liked fashion. When I started getting older and having the choice on my own personal style, I didn’t like black; I like colors. I wanted to make it my own and let it reflect my own personal style.”

Where to buy it: On her Web site, lshandi.com, or at Caramel Boutique on U Street. Her designs are also sold in stores along the East Coast, including Patricia Field in New York and Rag Junkie in Florida.

Designer Abigail de Casanova

What: Girly vintage pieces from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and unique stone jewelry in a variety of styles and colors.

Who: Abigail de Casanova has come a long way from the pompom-adorned alpaca sweater she wore on her first day of school after moving to United States at age 13. Today the fashion designer, makeup artist, hairstylist, and head of the DC Fashionistas wouldn’t be caught dead donning such a major fashion faux pas. But there are still signs of her Peruvian roots in her current style. It’s travel—exotic locales inhabited by people with styles and clothes completely foreign to her—that inspires this beauty and fashion jack-of-all-trades. But even now she still winces when looking back on that first day of school.

“Now that I think about it, I would have skipped the pompoms,” she says.

Where to buy it: Abigaildecasanova.com 

What: Brightly colored screen tees, ties, blazers, and 80s-inspired glass jewelry for men and women.

Who: The 31-year-old began designing when she moved back home to D.C. after graduating from the University of New Hampshire. She started out printing t-shirts for junior high soccer teams and corporate softball leagues at a mom-and-pop shop. She only worked there for nine months, but looking at the rows of screens Bilonick keeps in her studio, it’s clear that experience left a lasting imprint—no pun intended.

Today, Bilonick works myriad jobs in the DC arts community. She’s a program director for the Washington Project for the Arts and her show—a display of printed images on large wooden blocks­—just closed at the Transformer gallery. She also makes time for her clothing line.

Where to buy it: Smash!, Civilian Art Project, and on her Web site www.kristinabilonick.com