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"The first dress designer Katie Ermilio created was for her eighth grade dinner dance. Mint green in silk georgette, the strapless babydoll mini was a sign of things to come.\n\n The daughter of a bespoke tailor and granddaughter of Grace Kelly's clothier, fashion runs in Ermilio's family. While design was always an important part of her life, the 27-year-old initially aspired to be a magazine editor, leading her to intern at Vogue while attending New York University.\n\n \"It was at my internships where I started designing my own dresses to wear to work,\" Ermilio says. \"They took me from the classroom to my internships to out at night.\"\n\n Upon graduating from NYU and from the halls of 4 Times Square after taking a job as Teen Vogue's very own public relations assistant, Ermilio built a custom clientele and later launched her ready-to-wear collection for fall 2012.\n\n She recently received a shining stamp of approval from Barneys with the release of an exclusive collection for the retailer, drawing upon her signature silhouettes and past ready-to-wear successes. The classic styles have a hint of playfulness through cut and color, as evidenced by Ermilio's favorite, a navy bow-back gown.\n\n \"For me, it's such an extension of who I am. Even if I were not a designer in my professional life, I would still be drawing and draping,\" she explains. \"It has been a hobby and passion project that evolved into a career.\"\n\n Photo by Sonja Georgevich"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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