It’s a hot summer afternoon at The Cabbage Patch Settlement House, and fashion designer Frankie Lewis is walking an imaginary runway in the basketball gym.
“How many seconds was that?” she asks as she pauses beneath a basketball goal.
Throughout the year, this is a safe space for children of downtown and west Louisville to participate in athletics and other youth development activities. But for one night only, it will be transformed for a fashion show benefiting the community center.
Before she was a fashion designer, working for a studio in California that has designed for Katy Perry and Madonna, Frankie was a “Patch kid,” participating in education and youth development programs and eventually earning her degree through The Patch’s College Scholars program. This is her opportunity to give back to the organization that helped her flourish on her creative journey.
Young designers like Frankie, Emily Ridings and Gunnar Deatherage have proved that the art of design flourishes in the Bluegrass State. Courier-Journal reporter Kirby Adams has been covering the celebrity scene in Louisville for years and has noticed that, while trends come and go, the city is a perpetually vibrant, exciting place. “I think the Kentucky Derby helps to elevate Louisville fashion cred,” Kirby says. “Even when it’s a bit over the top, the fashion of Derby weekend shows up on national television, all over the internet and in top fashion magazines.
“Fashion in Louisville is definitely a ‘thing!’ And the number of really great local designers who have gone on to compete on national TV shows or work in the fashion industry in New York and L.A. are a testament to the fact that fashion can come from anywhere in the U.S.A.—even the beautiful Bluegrass State.”
Frankie is among the local designers who have gone on to hit it big. She’s fresh off the 2019 season of the reality television show Project Runway, in which aspiring designers are challenged to create clothing with limited time and materials. She succeeded in winning the hearts of viewers and fellow competitors and was so well-liked that one of her fellow designers helped her finish her project when time was running short. Cabbage Patch staff members gathered at the Old Louisville Brewery to watch the first episode, and as Frankie demonstrated teamwork rather than rivalry, Cabbage Patch Director of Programs Mayghin Levine said through proud tears, “That’s The Patch way!”
Frankie found The Cabbage Patch the way many children and families do—through the recommendation of a family member. Although she walked through The Patch’s door as a shy fifth-grader, Frankie quickly became fascinated by Yetunde, a teacher with beautiful style who helped awaken Frankie’s creative talents. Under Yetunde’s wing, Frankie felt comfortable returning to The Patch, and she eventually found the confidence to branch out and explore a variety of other Patch programs, including summer camps.
“The Patch staff members were the only people that my mom would trust to take me halfway across the country, no questions asked,” Frankie says with a laugh.
As part of Teen Club and the Educational Opportunities program, Frankie dove into college readiness training, preparing herself for academic success. While pursuing her degree in theater arts at the University of Louisville, she learned to sew in the costuming department. Only 10 days after she graduated in 2010, she was hired for her first post-college job as youth development and performing arts specialist at The Cabbage Patch. In addition to performing arts activities, she taught sewing lessons and produced fashion shows with Cabbage Patch members. “Every Monday, I would tell the children in my summer camps that they would see other kids going on field trips, while we were doing hard work,” Frankie says, “but by Friday, when everyone was clapping for them, it would be worth it!”
Frankie’s first independent foray into the fashion industry was under the name Ann DeEvelyn Designs. She hosted fashion events and was featured in the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft’s KMAC Couture fashion shows. KMAC Couture enabled her to explore unorthodox materials, as she created apparel from mattress pads and hair. Following her debut on Project Runway, she rebranded herself as Frankie Lew, bringing more of her personal identity to her business.
As Frankie has grown into a successful designer, The Cabbage Patch is proud to call her an alumna. Just as Frankie did when she was working there, Patch staff and volunteers focus on helping children find their way to self-sufficiency in a way that fits their strengths and potential. For many children like Frankie, that means exploring possible career paths in the arts. Cabbage Patch art teacher Bianca Vaughn finds a natural connection with the children of The Patch as they explore with clay, paint, found objects and more. “I have always been a shy and quiet person, so naturally people would try to speak for me or over me,” Vaughn says. “Art helped me find my own voice, as well as to process certain traumas through the years. It’s the same for many of the children that we serve here at The Patch.
“Art is about unlimited potential that should be instilled in kids, especially if their environment is unchanging or unprogressive. Through art, you can have the power to change anything you want, because art sparks a lot of connections.”
Frankie aspires to be a role model for children who find art to be empowering. “There was a child whose family told him that he couldn’t make any money being an artist,” she says. “I told that kid, and I would tell any kid, to remind whoever is doubting them that my art professor is clearly making a career out of it. You need to go to artists who work in whatever field you are interested in and ask them directly how to make a living doing what they want to do.”
Frankie’s contributions to The Cabbage Patch go beyond mentoring and setting a great example. She recently gave several young women of The Cabbage Patch the opportunity to wear custom-made dresses to their proms. Janae Cofield, a graduate of Louisville’s Central High School attending Northern Kentucky University as a Patch scholar, remembers the design process for the prom dresses as an affirming experience: “She just always made sure that we felt confident in what we were wearing. Whenever she was making alterations, she would constantly ask, ‘Do you feel beautiful? Do you feel comfortable?’ I just loved that she always made sure that I felt good about the entire process.”
Lea Fischbach—known as Ms. Fish to the children of The Patch—has been a volunteer there for 25 years and has fond memories of Frankie as a child. “She had, and still has, such great aspirations,” Ms. Fish says. “She always gave back to the kids by the old Patch Way [politeness, love, kindness and encouragement]. I think it’s awesome that someone who knows what a ‘dog eat dog’ business fashion is still takes time to focus on the kids. She could have just had a fashion show to highlight herself and her company’s achievements, but instead, she is bringing much-needed attention to the youth. She brings out the sensation that anyone can live out their dreams.”
Frankie agrees that success is about believing that one’s dreams have power. “The absolute first step is to have a dream,” she says. “There are so many people who can’t clearly define what they want to do, which makes it much harder figuring out how to get there. The next step is to just figure out what you need to do for yourself to make it happen—maybe that’s working on your time management or focusing on one thing at a time. But it’s key to think somewhat introspectively to make your dreams happen.”
https://www.frankielew.com
If You Go
Resurrections: A Frankie Lew Fashion Experience
October 12, 7PM
The Cabbage Patch Settlement House
1413 South 6th Street, Louisville
$50, benefits The Cabbage Patch