Designer Earle Bannister joined his first fashion show in 1989, when he was a senior at Baltimore’s Morgan State University. In the following decades, his men’s clothing, inspired by the elegant wardrobes of 1940s and ’50s black-and-white movies, developed a following, wowing crowds at the city’s house music parties. Now the bespoke tailor will reach a new audience at Artscape in Baltimore, one of the nation’s largest free outdoor arts festivals, where he’ll take part in a panel discussion and join eleven other designers for fashion shows—among the scores of events scheduled for the annual weekend affair, which celebrates forty years this August 2–4. Other offerings include short films, improv, comedy, a gamers’ fest, live music, and DJ sessions at multiple venues. “It’s a massive, massive production—literally and figuratively the hottest weekend of the year,” says Rachel D. Graham, CEO of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. Bannister says he hopes his fashion looks, ranging from silk pajamas to smoking jackets to formal wear, will transport his audience. “I want them to feel like they’re in Italy, in Paris. I’m ready to raise the world’s expectation of what comes out of Baltimore.”
Southern Agenda