Hope Wade Designs was founded in 1991, after owner Hope Wade was laid off from a graphic design job. She needed to quickly design a dress to wear after receiving a last-minute gala invite. Hope stunned everyone at the event with her design, and friends began commissioning her to design dresses, for which she charged only $50 each!

A graduate of The Cooper Union, she had no formal training specifically in fashion design, and initially relied on the cutting and sewing skills she learned from her mother. Since then, Wade has built a name for herself in the world of fashion.

Her designs have been worn by many celebrities, most notably Darlene Love, who has worn Hope Wade Designs during performances on The Late Show with David Letterman Show and at The White House. Wade was also a top three finalist of Project Runway: A Critique by Tim Gunn,Wade has shown her designs on the runways of New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, and Caribbean Fashion Week in Kingston, Jamaica.

Being immersed in the creative community in Rockland County, Wade recognized that the region had enough resources, talent, and drive to have its own Fashion Week. Thus, in 2019, she founded and produced the very first Rockland Fashion Week. Celebrating its 5th Anniversary this year, Rockland Fashion Week brings together hundreds of spectators, designs, and models to the Palisades Center annually. In a bold move, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wade opened a storefront boutique, Hope Wade Designs, which continues to thrive today in the artsy village of Nyack.

Unsurprisingly, she serves on the board of directors of the Nyack Business Council.Wade’s strong ties in the community have continued to drive her success. Leadership Rockland, the Arts Council of Rockland, and the Jamaican Civic & Cultural Association of Rockland (JAMCARR), where she serves as President, are just a few of the groups in which she is involved.

Her fundraising and service efforts have led to numerous awards and recognition, including the first Woman of Distinction Award by the State Assembly District 97 of New York, the Woman of Achievement Award from the Rockland Business Women’s Network, and most recently, the prestigious Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wade proudly noted the reasons why Rockland is the right place for her business in a piece about her in Hudson Valley Magazine: “Rockland is sophistication,” she enthuses. “Rockland is art, fashion, poetry, malls, young people, older people with stories. It’s culture, it’s religion, it’s diversification, it’s bright, and it’s beautiful.”