Meet Stephanie Ahr | President & Founder of Frankie’s Runway

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Ahr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
The biggest risk I ever took ultimately lead to the creation of my company, Frankie’s Runway. After only knowing my now-husband for SIX MONTHS, I agreed to marry him and move my life to DC where he resided (insane, I know!). This also meant leaving NYC and my career in communications at Estée Lauder Companies. A few years later I had my daughter, Frankie, and landed my dream job, full-time Mama!

When Frankie entered elementary school, I gained some free time and a strong desire to put my creative skills back to use. While cleaning out her closet I came across special dresses I kept and started thinking about what to do with them. I met with a seamstress armed with Frankie’s outgrown items and ideas. We upcycled the dresses into new pieces (denim jackets, handbags), and when friends saw them, they began asking for custom garments as well. After handcrafting a few, I realized I was really onto something. People loved this useful, stylish way of holding on to sentimental items and having true one-of-a-kind pieces.

While my favorite projects are still these one-off custom collaborations with clients, our company had to evolve if I wanted it to grow, so I took the risk and self-funded purchases of luxury vintage fabrics and base items to upcycle them onto. Last August we launched our first Ready to Wear Collection and quickly sold through it. The on-going RTW releases continue to be successful as well!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. 
Our pieces are fresh and a little rough around the edges, just like their creator! 😉

I’m proud that I’ve stayed true to my vision of making luxury accessible, imaginative, and unique. There are other brands that also luxcycle, but our price points are much lower, we have clothing and accessories for both children and adults, we offer XS-3X size options for women in a plethora of styles, and we create custom pieces for our clients using their own fabrics.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Living in our nation’s capital, there is no shortage of things to do! Seeing the monuments and hitting up some of the museums are a must – my favorite is the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. For lovers of all things lux, plan an afternoon of shopping at City Center. An ideal evening would be dinner & drinks at The Wharf (highly recommend dlish tapas & fun cocktails @ Del Mar) before seeing live music at The Anthem.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This brand wouldn’t be where it is today without my tribe.

My husband, Daniel, has been my number one cheerleader since I thought up this crazy little idea. He pushed me to not give up when COVID hit and I worried it would never take off. Even just last week when I returned home from my latest trunk show he made sure to tell me in front of our daughter how proud of me he continues to be. In the words of Salt-N-Pepa, “What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man, yes he is!”

My friends are not only the most beautiful walking advertisements of my work, constantly promoting my brand to anyone that will listen to “who they are wearing,” but they also are great sounding boards – whether it’s asking their opinions on my latest projects, having them as an outlet to whine when I’m overwhelmed trying to perform all aspects of a small business owner + mother + wife, or wine-ing with them celebrating all my little successes along the way.

Website: frankiesrunway.com

Instagram: frankies_runway

Image Credits
Elis Llinares Photography