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Jeffrey returns to Atlanta August 2 at Buckhead Village District

Style

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July 31, 2026

Jeffrey returns to Atlanta August 2 at Buckhead Village District

Jeffrey Atlanta. Photo credit: Cheyenne Crawford

Over 35 years after opening his first Jeffrey store at Phipps Plaza, Jeffrey Kalinsky returns to the Atlanta luxury fashion scene with a second iteration. It opens Sunday, August 2 at Buckhead Village District. “It’s the perfect women’s closet,” Kalinsky says of his new boutique. “It’s very head-to-toe.”

Expect well-known luxury designers like Tom Ford, The Row, Gucci, and Loewe, as well as up-and-coming or harder-to-find brands like God’s True Cashmere, Valextra, Courrèges, Christen, Dosa, and Rier, many of which are exclusive to Jeffrey in Atlanta. For now, Kalinsky is focused on womenswear only, with ready-to-wear clothing, bags, and shoes available. There will be a dedicated valet service for customers in front of the store.

Jeffrey Kalinsky. Photo credit: Cheyenne Crawford

L to R: Tom Ford rack; Saint Laurent handbags in case; Saint Laurent dresses on rack; Saint Laurent shoes and bag on square table; Gianvito Rossi pumps on table; Tom Ford boots, shoe and clutch bags on table. Photo credit: Cheyenne Crawford

Kalinsky closed all three locations (Atlanta, New York City, and Palo Alto) of his eponymous boutique in 2020 during the pandemic. But he says he’s ready for a new challenge. “I was in a place in my life where I wanted to do something, and knew I wanted to do it in Atlanta at Buckhead Village,” he says. “This was very deliberate.”

So far, his instincts have served him well: Many items have already sold during private appointments before the store’s opening. “We carry Wommelsdorff, and I’m down to only three sweaters,” he says. “There’s not a brand that I haven’t sold something from yet.”

The 4,000-square-foot boutique has a quarter of the store dedicated to a styling lounge where customers can socialize and get styled by Kalinsky and his team. “Here, in Atlanta, it’s about relationships, and they all happen back there,” he says. “I just spent two hours with a customer, but I could have gone longer.”

Connecting with customers has always been at the heart of what he does, he says, and he’s excited to get even more personal with his clients this time around. “I love selling clothes to women; I love completing the look and knowing about their lives. This is all above love: my love of product and my love for my customers.”

At Vintage by Judith, a clothing aficionado lives on through her 200,000-piece collection

Style

Joe Reisigl

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July 22, 2026

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At Vintage by Judith, a clothing aficionado lives on through her 200,000-piece collection

a person models blue jeans, a white button up, and a brown fringe suede jacket against a burnt orange backdrop — Vintage By Judith has become a go-to for costumers in Georgia’s film industry, drawn to its huge inventory and high-quality clothing

Downtown Austell is home to a vintage lover’s dream: 7,000 square feet of previously owned clothing and accessories, dating from the Victorian period to Y2K. It’s not a costume house or museum, but the singular collection of one woman, Judith Cucinelli Nudi. Though Nudi died in 2024, her daughter Alisa Barrau is carrying on her legacy. She operates Vintage by Judith as a private appointment boutique, with more than 200,000 of her mother’s vintage items, from Scarlett O’Hara–style hoop skirts to flapper dresses to military peacoats, available for rent and in some cases for purchase.

Nudi was around nine when she began asking family members for their cast-off dresses and jewelry. Though she became a hairdresser in adulthood, she spent her spare time hunting for vintage finds to add to her ever-growing, all-sizes collection of men’s and women’s apparel. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Barrau spent many an afternoon trekking with her mom to estate sales, alongside her sister and cousin. “We’d be sitting in the back[seat], with loads of gems she’d collected up to our necks.” As a teen, Barrau says she wasn’t thrilled by the house being taken over by antique clothing, but her mother’s enthusiasm ultimately won her over: “She saw vintage materials as art.”

In the mid-’80s, the family moved to Atlanta, and her mother decided it was the right time to pivot from hairdressing to vintage rentals. She set up Vintage by Judith as a rental clothing stall in an antiques mall, which became so successful that, in 1988, she moved to a brick-and-mortar rental boutique on Marietta Square. Barrau’s father served as a handyman, enthusiastically building shelves and installing mirrors as inventory grew.

Besides Nudi’s personal finds, the enormous collection also came to include donations from families seeking a good home for their deceased relative’s belongings. “People are looking for someone to appreciate what their loved ones had,” Barrau says.

In 2021, Nudi was diagnosed with cancer; she died in 2024 at age 77. Rather than let her mother’s legacy disappear, Barrau decided to carry it on. She’s now the boutique’s full-time manager, overseeing the collection and receiving donations from families.

At first, Barrau continued to offer only rentals, because she couldn’t imagine permanently parting with her mother’s carefully cultivated collection. “For me, these things are her,” she says. But her mind was changed, partly, by younger boutique visitors, who impressed her with their enthusiasm for the thrill of the vintage hunt and good craftsmanship. In early 2026, Barrau began offering items for sale on a case-by-case basis. She still struggles with letting them go: “Every time a piece leaves, it’s a little goodbye.” But she welcomes motivated shoppers to make an appointment, comb through the collection, and perhaps take home a special piece—and a story.

“She lives through them,” Barrau says of her mother. “She would always tell me to touch the clothes, to feel the stories, and to carry them on.”

This article appears in our July 2026 issue.

4 made-by-hand Atlanta businesses selling one-of-a-kind crafts

From the Magazine

Joe Reisigl

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May 31, 2026

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4 made-by-hand Atlanta businesses selling one-of-a-kind crafts

It’s the season for art markets and festivals, where locally owned businesses showcase jewelry, clothes, and totes you won’t find anywhere else. Here are four local brands helmed by designers who are committed to artisan traditions and a slow-fashion ethos.

Solid Moss Co.
No green thumb? No problem. Everyone can add greenery to their space with a maintenance-free, preserved-moss art piece from Solid Moss Co. showcasing biophilic design—the practice of incorporating nature into interior spaces—artist Joanna Solid’s textural pieces often feature moss varieties native to Georgia. In addition to selling her art online and throughout festivals in the Southeast, Solid frequently hosts “Make Your Own Moss-terpiece” workshops, often at the Open Door ATL gift shop in Decatur. Pieces range from $49 to $5,000, with custom commissions available.

Loud Italians
After a friend introduced Kim Arenas to resin art in 2019, she began experimenting with creating lightweight, hand-poured resin earrings. Her designs range from oversized, geometric shapes to multicolor playful silhouettes of cats, dogs, and hearts. “My original inspiration came from Italian stained-glass windows and vintage milk glass pieces,” Arenas says. “When I captured that look in an earring, I knew I had something special.” Loud Italians—named in honor of her family heritage—is now a staple at Atlanta art markets and festivals, recognizable by Arenas’s signature red-and-white tent. Prices range from $15 to $39.

Indian Roots
Born in Jaipur, India, Harsh Yadav was surrounded by the ancient craft of hand-block printing, a technique that involves dipping hand-carved wooden blocks into dye and then stamping them onto fabrics. In 2024, after years of dreaming about owning his own block-printed clothing brand, he launched Indian Roots, his collection of artisan-made, naturally dyed, block-printed pieces. The curated line includes dresses, skirts, and jackets, plus quilted totes and travel bags. His collection is available online and at local festivals, but Yadav has plans to open a local brick-and-mortar soon. Prices range from $30 to $125.

Color of Heat
Slow, sustainable, and intentional is the framework for Kat Whatley’s clothing brand, Color of Heat. In 2013, a family trip to Thailand sparked her passion for Thai textiles, leading her to create her small-batch collections that connect modern-day style with the ancient art of fiber crafts. Though she travels back to Atlanta for festivals, Whatley is now based in Northern Thailand, where she works with a network of local artisan groups, each employing different ancestral techniques, including weaving, natural dyeing, batik painting, and sewing. Designed to be genderless and versatile, Color of Heat’s pieces, such as the signature wearable throw, can be worn in nine ways, including as a poncho or kimono-style wrap. Prices range from $39 to $500, available online and at festivals.

This article appears in our May 2026 issue.

The Atlanta Dream’s merch just got a seriously fashion-forward makeover

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Myrydd Wells Walljasper

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May 8, 2026

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The Atlanta Dream’s merch just got a seriously fashion-forward makeover

The Atlanta Dream’s Homegrown collection

Clothes are items you wear for coverage or perhaps warmth. Fashion, on the other hand, is distinctive. It involves self-expression and writes a visual narrative about the wearer. Inarguably, team merch has always fit squarely into the first category. Leave it to the progressive minds at the Atlanta Dream to change things up.

As the Southeast’s only WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream is known for innovation and trendsetting: Co-owner and VP of the franchise Renee Montgomery is the first former WNBA player to serve as both an owner and executive of a team. The brand has a deeply rooted culture of storytelling well beyond the typical sports team. They also maintain a consistent community presence offering free girls basketball clinics, hosting winter coat drives, packing hygiene kits and serving food to Atlanta’s unhoused youth. The Dream isn’t just another sports team, it is Atlanta’s sports team, tied to the city in every way.

And that’s the story their new “Homegrown” merch collection tells. A story of culture, pride and style, mined from the heart of Atlanta.

The new collection dropped at the end of April and includes pieces with creative fonts, stylish cuts, and several firsts in the league, including the first licensed WNBA tie, and the first diamante pieces: diamante, of course being a fashion word for what many people know simply as “bedazzled.”

The whole collection was inspired by the Dream’s new Rebel jersey, which was unveiled today and features a black background to symbolize strength, peach accents to honor the Peach State’s heritage, and the city’s numerous area codes stitched into the fabric to represent every neighborhood and fan.

I was invited to one of the photo shoots for the new collection, and it was a full-scale fashion shoot with all the bells and whistles of a major design house’s shoot: A table full of jewelry, rows of shoes and accessories, racks of fashion “pulls” to style alongside the collection itself. And yes, that was photo shoots plural, as the scope of the project entailed not only professional models, but also members of the larger Dream community, including some of the team’s hype squad, super fans like the team’s longest-standing season ticket holder; famed basketball personality Christina Granville, known as “Ms. Basketball;” and the players themselves. For the photos, pieces in the collection were thoughtfully styled to show just how versatile they could be. Sure, it’s Dream merch, but it’s merch you can integrate into your everyday fashion choices and style in a fashion conscious way that shows your own personality and vibe.

And while we’re talking about vibes, the energy on set was electric. A room filled with people excited about fashion, excited about the Dream, and excited to merge the two together in a expressive new way for fans. I caught up with Ms. Basketball after her shoot, and she was high energy and high praise, “As an Atlanta Dream fan who loves fashion and loves Atlanta, the fact that I can wear these pieces and showcase both my personality and my love for the team is incredible,” she says. “The entire line is so fashion-forward, so I can rock heels or sneakers, and there are crop tops, and I can be creative and pair it all with different accessories, not just when I’m at games, but I can wear this collection anywhere.”

But the minds at the Dream franchise didn’t get to this point alone. After making moves with their apparel line last season with the fashion-centric “Our City. Our Dream” collection and the “Pay Some Respect to Women’s Sports” collection, they decided to push the boundaries of women’s sports retail even farther: They partnered with Monarch Commerce, a branch of female-funded, female-led investment firm Monarch Collection, which focuses solely on women’s sports. Monarch Commerce amplifies women’s sports retail and is comprised of many former Nike execs who understand the ethos of women’s sports apparel better than most. Their concept for the Dream is to take the traditional approach of creating men’s merch and then simply sizing it for women and throwing it out the window. Instead the styles designed by women, for women (but, sure, men can get in on the fashion-forward action, too). The “Homegrown” collection is also just the first of many that Monarch will create alongside the Dream.

“The decision to work with Monarch was easy, because they are a women-led organization, and we always want to champion women as much as possible,” says Kaila Pettis, senior director of brand for the Dream. She also recalls one of the first meetings with the Dream and Monarch teams together. “We had a round table, and there were almost 20 of us sitting around the table, and all of the sudden someone stopped the meeting to point out there were no men there. It was just a table full of powerful women.”

No surprise at all, this partnership is another first for an WNBA team, and a meeting of the minds of two brands with a deep understanding that despite the increase in female sports fans, women still have less access to quality merchandise. Fortunately, the Dream and Monarch are set to change that, one bedazzled t-shirt at a time.

The evolution of the shopping capital of the South

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Joe Reisigl

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May 1, 2026

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an illustrated portrait of Lauren Finney Harden — Atlanta native **Lauren Finney Harden** is a former fashion magazine editor turned freelance lifestyle journalist. She has previously worked in different capacities for Cosmopolitan, Lonely Planet, Vogue, Elle, Hamptons magazine, Ocean Drive magazine, and InStyle.

Legendary retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky recently announced he would open a second iteration of his designer fashion and accessories boutique, Jeffrey, which closed in 2020. When I was a teenager growing up in the suburbs, Jeffrey, which debuted at Phipps Plaza in 1992, was formative in shaping both my interest in fashion and my future career; it was the place to get the cool stuff. I can still remember the thrill of unboxing the Miu Miu pumps I bought there and how I wore them to my interview for Cosmopolitan, where I became a fashion editor.

Jeffrey was central to my experience, but it wasn’t the only retailer elevating Atlanta to its moniker of “the shopping capital of the South” over the past 65 years.

Downtown was the epicenter of retail until the mid-20th century, but most of Atlanta’s shopping has been centralized around our malls since Lenox Square opened in 1961 (first anchored by department stores Rich’s and Davidson’s). Greenbriar Mall followed in 1965, Phipps Plaza in 1969, and Perimeter Mall in 1971; then came a proliferation of suburban malls. Lenox Square became the Southeast’s largest mall in 1995. It attracts more than 35 million shoppers annually, according to its owner, retail real-estate company Simon.

From the ’70s until the early aughts, the malls were a mix of department stores and locally owned boutiques, such as Barbara Sue Klein Weiss’s Snooty Hooty and Isaacson’s, which shuttered in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Fashion retail was vital to Atlanta’s social and business scenes. Amanda Brown-Olmstead was the first public relations director for Saks when it opened in Atlanta in 1968. She hosted trunk shows with designers like Oscar de la Renta and Halston and produced two to three fashion shows a week in the ’70s and ’80s, catering to the women who accompanied their husbands on business trips, Atlanta society women, and seasonal shoppers.

One of the most impactful events was Fashionata, conceived by Sol Kent, Rich’s influential fashion director from 1948 until 1991. (Kent dressed Coretta Scott King for her husband’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.) A charitable component was added in 1971 to benefit various Atlanta institutions, and the fashion show regularly sold out multiple nights at the Fox Theatre. The Fashionata was a precursor to Jeffrey Fashion Cares, Kalinsky’s charity fashion show at Phipps that ran for almost 30 years.

In recent years, retail has become streamlined with department-store consolidation and some boutiques shuttering. The rise of online shopping and global sourcing has significantly altered brand and consumer behavior, and the Covid-19 pandemic further evolved retail globally, from style habits to supply chains, according to Heather Price-Manso Anderson, a clinical associate professor for the Georgia Soft Goods Education Foundation at UGA.

When it comes to deciding on new store locations, brand representatives I’ve interviewed in recent years confirm customer data drives retail decisions. Still, Kalinsky believes that relationships matter. It’s something local, post-Jeffrey boutiques like Antidote, Factor’s, and Don Purcell have capitalized on. This is a town built on personal connections, and Kalinsky is banking on them in his new location, opening August 2 at Buckhead Village District.

Kalinsky says that the level of service, such as a large styling lounge and attention to detail, are his differentiators at Jeffrey, whether catering to three generations in one client family or to the new relationships he hopes to make.

“We have been successful because of how we treat our clients,” he says.

More on Atlanta fashion

“I started both my businesses, Spanx and Sneex, to advocate for women through product. From humble beginnings in my small Virginia-Highland apartment to a headquarters in Buckhead, it’s been amazing to see Atlanta flourish during my 25-plus years of working in fashion and retail. It’s a city that fosters entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation, and I’m especially proud to see that women-owned businesses are on the rise, proving that in Atlanta, you can start small and dream big.” – Spanx founder and inventor Sara Blakely

Back to 65 Years of Atlanta Magazine

This article appears in our May 2026 issue.

Christian Dior’s first exhibition in the Southeast lands in Atlanta

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Allison Entrekin

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May 1, 2026

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A historic showcase of Christian Dior’s fashion, including pieces never before seen in a public exhibition, is now on view at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. Dior: Crafting Fashion showcases carefully preserved toiles, Lady Dior handbags, and exquisite gowns worn by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Demi Moore. “This exhibition is a master class in the magic of a legendary maison,” says SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace.

The exhibit tells the story of the French Couture House’s designers, from Christian Dior to Jonathan Anderson. It shares who they were before they became household names and how they put their own stamp on their collections. It also presents their early design sketches, gardens that inspired them, and some of their most iconic looks.

Not only does Christian Dior rarely partner with universities; this exhibit marks its first presentation in the Southeast. The design house was likely inspired to come to SCAD’s Atlanta campus by the blockbuster success of 2025’s Christian Dior: Jardines Rêvés at SCAD FASH’s Lacoste location in Provence, France. That exhibit enjoyed record-breaking attendance and rave reviews.

Time to Shine: 3 Atlanta actors dish on making their creative mark in style

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Joe Reisigl

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April 23, 2026

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Time to Shine: 3 Atlanta actors dish on making their creative mark in style

Erin

Top, $46, Zara at Lenox Square, zara.com
Jeans, $165, Sezane at Ponce City Market, sezane.com
Schutz shoes, $178, Bloomingdale’s at Lenox Square, bloomingdales.com
Earrings, $120, and bracelets, $100, Sezane at Ponce City Market, sezane.com

Nzinga

Dress, $325, Abbey Glass at Buckhead Village District, abbeyglass.com
Shoes and earrings, talent’s own; sleeves, stylist’s own.

Hunter

Top, $975, and pants, $690, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake at ANT/DOTE, antidotestyle.com
Balenciaga shoes, $825, ANT/DOTE, antidotestyle.com

Atlanta has always been a style-forward city—and today, as the Hollywood of the South, there are more eyes on us than ever. Nationwide, the film industry is still finding its footing in the wake of the pandemic and seismic shifts in audience trends, but Atlanta’s scene continues to offer plenty of opportunities for local creatives. We chatted with three Atlanta-based actors and multihyphenates who have honed the art of self-expression, both on-screen and in the streets.

Nzinga Imani, Hunter Burke, and Erin Caitlin Collins caught up with our team to talk about their recent work, upcoming film projects, and what excites them about Atlanta’s fashion scene.

Scarf, $895, St. John at Lenox Square, stjohnknits.com
Bracelets, $125, Sezane at Ponce City Market, sezane.com
Earrings, talent’s own

Nzinga Imani
The triple threat with a fashion side biz

Atlanta native Nzinga Imani, who divides her time between fashion, music, and acting, embodies the do-it-all ethos of a true renaissance woman. On-screen, she can be seen in the BET+ series All the Queen’s Men, Tyler Perry’s Sistas, and the recent feature film Friend Zone. When she’s not shooting, she’s busy working in fashion: Imani is founder and CEO of plus-size online retail boutique Nimani and has designed sold-out collections for major lines, including Fashion to Figure.

“There are so few options for a plus-size person who is young, fun, and vibrating,” Imani says of her inspiration for creating Nimani. “Someone who isn’t trying to hide or cover up, and who doesn’t mind flaunting her curves.” In addition to running her boutique, Imani models for brands such as Ashley Stewart, FILA, and Lane Bryant.

Toccin dress, $495, Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza, saks.com
Shoes, $120, Steve Madden at Lenox Square, stevemadden.com
Earrings, $65, bracelets, $125, Ring, $100, Sezane at Ponce City Market, sezane.com

To achieve this multivalent success, Imani credits her mix of creative backgrounds. In addition to dancing ballet and cheerleading, Imani grew up singing in choir and was loosely connected to the music industry, thanks to her close friendship with the children of songwriter and producer Dallas Austin. In high school, after a teacher suggested she explore musical theater, she discovered her talent for acting.

A professional actor for the past 15 years, Imani worked the independent-film and web-series circuit before breaking into network television. A pivotal moment came in 2021, when she landed the role of Dawn, a confident, body-positive character on All the Queen’s Men. “It was the first time people had seen a plus-size person in an intimate role,” says Imani.

That appearance opened the door to a relationship with Tyler Perry Studios. In 2022, Imani was cast in Perry’s dramedy Sistas as the outspoken Angela; her character then became a series regular on a spin-off, Zatima, which will release part two of its fourth season later this year on BET+. Last year, Imani made her feature film debut with the rom-com Friend Zone on the streaming network ALLBLK. She stars as Queenie, a charismatic artist who is navigating a potential romance with her lifelong best friend Marcel (Angelo Diaz).

Lapointe top, $1,890, Tootsie’s, tootsies.com
Skirt, $895, St. John at Lenox Square, stjohnknits.com
Bracelets, $125, Sezane at Ponce City Market, sezane.com
Shoes and earrings, talent’s own

Though she’s now established as an actor, Imani never fully left music behind. She’s been featured on several songs by Atlanta-based artists, including XL the Scholar and Queen of the Ratchet Chorus. In January, Imani released her first single: a R&B-influenced Afrobeat track, “Drown,” produced by Renzy808, who has worked with artists Ty Dolla $ign and Lil Gotit.

“I’m glad I’ve come now to a place where I can explore and try new things,” she says. “And pour into it from my own point of view in a fun, creative way.” In the future, she hopes to get back to her musical-theater roots by writing, producing, and starring in her own original musical.

Top, $975, and pants, $690, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake at ANT/DOTE, antidotestyle.com
Balenciaga shoes, $825, ANT/DOTE, antidotestyle.com

Hunter Burke
The seasoned actor with a flair for fiction-writing

As the son of a politician and brother of a dancer, Hunter Burke jokes that it was inevitable he would go into entertainment. While growing up outside Lafayette, Louisiana, he was obsessed with movies and theater. “I tried going to every play that came to town,” he says. He majored in theater at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and graduated in 2007, ready to make the most of the film-industry boom unfolding in his home state.

Burke worked between Louisiana and Los Angeles for a few years, though he often traveled for productions in Georgia, which was enjoying its own burgeoning film industry. In 2019, Netflix cast him as the yoga teacher Trotter Vidhyarkorn in Sweet Magnolias, a romantic drama that follows three best friends (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott, and Heather Headley) in their small-town life in Serenity, South Carolina. The show—now in its fifth season—films in Atlanta, and in 2022, Burke made the move here full-time.

Custom suit, $3,150 Factor’s, f-act-ors.com

As Burke has gotten to know Atlanta, he’s discovered it has its own aesthetic. “There are many cultures coming together here that bring their own style, which speaks to a larger conversation about art,” he says. “Art gets channeled here into something distinct and unique, and I like that it’s always in a state of flux: The second it becomes homogeneous, it becomes boring.” He and his fiancée frequent thrift stores or menswear boutiques like Buck Mason at Ponce City Market, searching for looks inspired by Burke’s father, as well as his icon in fashion and film: Paul Newman. “I like how he keeps it simple and elegant,” Burke says.

Jacket, $1,250, and shorts, $125, Factor’s, f-act-ors.com
Shoes, $140, Steve Madden at Lenox Square, stevemadden.com

When he’s not on set, Burke fuels his creativity by writing. Last year, he published his debut thriller novel, Of Flesh and Blood: The Untold Story of the Cajun Cannibal (Crooked Lane Books/Penguin Random House), cowritten with his childhood friend N.L. Lavin. It’s a natural extension of his curiosity. “Art, in any form—whether style, writing, or acting—demands an opinion,” he says. “The sooner artists understand that, the better. For the novel, I gave myself permission to create the art, do the work, and form my opinion.”

Acler dress, $435, Tootsie’s, toosties.com; jewelry, stylist’s own

Erin Caitlin Collins
The thrift-savvy actress lighting up her hometown

Atlanta has always been a town built on relationships. And for Erin Caitlin Collins, who grew up in DeKalb County, that’s been a key to her success. Since launching on the scene, the actor, producer, and writer has frequently worked with Performance Jam, an acting group that puts on free shows around Atlanta and is deeply embedded in the city’s creative scene.

Collins says that despite the perils facing the wider national industry, Atlanta’s indie film community is thriving. “You never know where a story is going to go and who is going to get funding,” she says. “There are voices here that demand to be heard and people with beautiful, funny, amazing stories to tell. I love Atlanta for that.”

The child of two creatives—her mom is a former news producer, her dad plays music—Collins had an art-filled childhood. “It influenced how I saw and interacted with the world,” she says. In elementary school, Collins auditioned for a school play and was bitten by the proverbial acting bug. She found herself drawn back to the medium in college, majoring in theater at Georgia State University.

Ganni top, $425, Tootsie’s, tootsies.com; Earrings, stylist’s own

Collins planned to pursue both film and stage work, but because live theater was on hold when she graduated in the spring of 2020, she started self-taping auditions for film productions at home. Film classes at the Boulevard Heights studio Drama Inc., she says, gave her the confidence to understand the process. Soon, she was landing roles in productions around town. A turn in the short horror film Night Shift at Ned’s earned her Best Actress awards at two film festivals.

This year, you can catch her in The Killing Cell, a horror film shot at the abandoned Rivers State Prison outside Milledgeville: “It was so scary filming there!” she says. The movie, written and produced by Dead Renegade Films, premiered at the Plaza Theatre in March. This fall, Collins will appear in Lyrebird, an independent alien-horror film directed by SCAD graduate Justin Suttles. Asked about her many horror credits, Collins says she believes genres sometimes pick actors, not the other way around—and she’s embraced it. “The horror genre has some of the most unique perspectives and characters,” she says. “The amount of imagination, originality, and creativity that goes into making a good horror film is astounding.”

BURU jacket, $278, and pants, $278, Dillard’s, dillards.com
Shoes, $65, Steve Madden at Lenox Square, stevemadden.com
Monshiro earrings, $220, Moosh, mooshshoppe.com
Gloves, stylist’s own

Still, she hasn’t abandoned her love of live theater: She and her friends are currently working on a production of Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a play about a dysfunctional Irish family in the 1990s.

As her career grows, Collins is thinking more about her identity as an actor and how her personal style reflects that. An avid thrifter, she enjoys shopping at Kudzu Antiques + Modern (“They have good vintage jewelry”) and Mother Lode for “edgier, Y2K-style stuff.” She prefers local thrift shops to corporate retail—and wherever she goes, she adds, her first stop is usually the shoe section. She may be gaining traction for her acting chops, but Collins says, “Style is the coolest medium to express yourself.”

This article appears in our April 2026 issue.

Mood Fabrics will debut a new showroom store at Ponce City Market this spring

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Myrydd Wells Walljasper

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February 3, 2026

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Mood Fabrics will debut a new showroom store at Ponce City Market this spring

Project Runway fans rejoice: Mood Fabrics, the 35-year-old fabric store made famous by the show, is debuting a new concept at Ponce City Market this spring.

Eric Sauma, co-owner and co-CEO of Mood Fabrics, says that the company has had its eye on Atlanta for a while. Customer data, the current online fabric buying experience, and a lack of in-person alternatives were some of the drivers for coming to Atlanta. “There are a lot of community creators, makers, and designers, and they don’t really have anywhere to go to buy fabric now,” he says.

The Atlanta store will operate differently from the existing stores in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston. It’s a new pilot showroom concept that hopes to bring a lot of choice to a relatively small space, something they hope to recreate in other new markets if it goes well. Nearly 8,000 SKUS of fabric, plus sewing notions like zippers, thread, buttons, and more, will be tucked into the second-floor 1,500-square-foot space at Ponce City Market that was previously leased by Chubbies.

Customers will be able to see and feel the fabric before placing an order for pickup or delivery at the showroom. “We’re able to squeeze a much wider selection into a smaller format,” says Sauma of the strategy. In total, about 20,000 products will be available to view, with on-site experts to guide purchases.

Sauma hopes that the Atlanta sewing community, from SCAD students to crafters, will also use Mood Fabrics as a place to connect. “People in the sewing and maker community want to go and talk with like-minded people. So yes, it’s a showroom, but it’s also a community center where people can talk shop,” he says.

Ponce City Market might seem like an unconventional choice, but Sauma doesn’t think so. “I saw the vibe and said, ‘This is a really cool concept,’” he says. Adam Schwegman, the director and head of retail leasing for Jamestown, the developer, owner, and manager of Ponce City Market, says that the showroom model isn’t that different from conventional retail. “Ponce City Market is a place people come to explore and create, and Mood seamlessly fits within that identity,” he says. “Bringing a unique retailer like Mood to the property ensures that we continue delivering on the magic that keeps our visitors inspired and contributes to our curated, dynamic mix of offerings.”

Guilty Party’s selvedge denim is built for stylish utility

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Joe Reisigl

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January 13, 2026

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Guilty Party’s selvedge denim is built for stylish utility

Punk rockers turned denim slingers: Champ Hammett (left) and Heath Ladnier of Guilty Party.

In an era of fast fashion, Guilty Party moves slow. Champ Hammett and Heath Ladnier launched the Grant Park boutique in 2023 based on a shared belief that clothes should get better with time. That guiding principle underscores every aspect of the store’s inventory, especially its cornerstone good: selvedge denim, the heavyweight jean fabric largely produced in Japan and long revered in denim cult circles.

Woven on vintage shuttle looms to create a dense weave and a clean “selv-edge,” or self-finished edge, which resists fraying, selvedge denim captures the ethos of Guilty Party. Here, you’ll find a rugged but refined selection of apparel inspired by traditional workwear, in a chummy, come-as-you-are atmosphere that reflects the punk rock world where Hammett and Ladnier came of age.

Guilty Party reads as menswear at first glance—and, yes, most customers are men—but the boutique welcomes all fashion-minded comers. “It really doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman; we don’t call ourselves a menswear store,” Ladnier says. “Our store is for anybody. But it’s not for everybody.” Whisk yourself inside while en route to nearby Ria’s Bluebird or Little Tart Bakeshop, and you’ll be welcomed with open arms. Learn a litany about premium fabrics and apparel construction, then leave feeling like one of the initiated.

Hammett, a Georgia native, discovered selvedge while touring the United States with hardcore punk band Foundation in the early aughts, then sought every specialty shop he could find. (The name Guilty Party nods to a 2017 song by The National, and to Hammett’s guilt over dragging bandmates—and, later, his wife—to denim shops from city to city.) He met Ladnier, a fellow punk rocker hailing from Mississippi, through their real-estate careers, and the two eventually turned a mutual obsession into the selvedge-centric shop they felt Atlanta was missing.

The store carries several popular Japanese selvedge brands, including Iron Heart, which draws denim heads from around the region; Guilty Party is the only brick-and-mortar shop selling them in a roughly nine-hour radius. Selvedge jeans, manufactured with methods the mainstream industry abandoned decades ago, soften with wear, developing creases and fades unique to each owner. “The more you live your life in them, the better they get, and the more they look like you,” Hammett says. The store’s fitting process is individualized, and hemming is completed in-house using a chain-stitch machine, an old-school tool—and the only one of its kind in Georgia—that preserves a puckered texture and leads to uneven fading, both signature characteristics of well-altered denim.

Beyond jeans, the selection leans classic utility: twill pants in earth tones, railroad-stripe chore coats, organic-cotton flannels, and knits from Germany and Peru. Guilty Party is also the spot for hard-to-find footwear, such as Red Wing and Alden, the Massachusetts shoemaker that made the boots Harrison Ford was famously shod in for Indiana Jones. The goods on offer, Ladnier says, are built for everyday use, even if the day gets rugged.

“We tell people not to baby these clothes,” he says. “You can wear these pieces out to eat on Saturday night, but you can also go fix a carburetor.”

This article appears in our January 2026 issue.

Atlanta skincare brands are proving the power of natural formulas

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Carly Cooper

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December 1, 2025

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Elixir no. 1, a comprehensive skin serum

A growing wave of beauty entrepreneurs is bringing skincare back to basics, swapping traditional chemicals for plant-based, organic ingredients, simple formulas, and a “clean beauty” ethos rooted in skin health. Consumers are increasingly scrutinizing labels and demanding transparency, trading formulas full of unpronounceable names for ingredients they recognize.

Once a niche trend, the organic skincare market is predicted to grow by more than $14 billion in the next five years, according to a Mordor Intelligence study. A TikTok search reveals more than 578,000 posts tagged #naturalskincare.

Atlanta brands have been active players in this emerging movement. They are increasingly crafting products that are gentle on the skin and the environment, each with a distinct philosophy on what it means to keep skincare truly natural.

Founders of local brand Averr Aglow, Levi and Camille Chulick, came up with the company’s popular Clear Skin Kit after Camille’s 16-year struggle with acne. “I came to the realization that most of the stuff on the market was treating your skin very harshly,” says Camille Chulick. “It was disrupting your skin barrier more like a war zone, nuking everything, versus the opposite approach that we started testing, which was a very nourishing, strengthening, and calming solution.” Their products include New Zealand Manuka oil to banish bacteria, rose water to reduce redness, and inulin, a prebiotic, to hydrate the skin.

Launched in Atlanta as PÜR Minerals in 2002, PÜR Cosmetics was an early adopter of mineral makeup that emphasized skincare. Made with naturally occurring ground minerals, its products are free of “occlusive” ingredients that clog or irritate skin, such as talc and mineral oils. Instead, shea butter and vitamin E nourish the skin throughout the day, explains Julie Campbell, chief marketing officer of Astral Health & Beauty, the company behind PÜR. “Not only do you look great at the moment, but over time, you see a reduction in the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, [and] sunspots and get firmer-looking skin,” she says.

Kennesaw-based clean beauty brand LYS, which specializes in skincare-infused makeup tailored to a wide range of skin tones, recently received an eight-figure investment and entry into nearly 2,000 Sephora locations in the United States and abroad. It now has the distinction of being the first Black-owned clean beauty brand at the global retailer. Another local company, Fig & Flower, which focuses on independent clean beauty brands, reopened in Kirkwood this year after closing its Poncey-Highland location more than two years ago.

(from left) Mary Peck and Leah Matthews. — Mary Peck (left) and Leah Matthews

Newcomer Holy Grail Skin Co. launched in April after Virginia-Highland residents Mary Peck and Leah Matthews grew frustrated with the available options for natural skincare. As working moms with young children, they craved a simple skincare regimen that still emphasized safety and efficacy.

After investing in nearly two years of research and testing, Peck and Matthews released Elixir no. 1, an all-in-one serum designed to enhance natural beauty. Featuring more than 20 vegan ingredients, probiotics, and botanicals, it boasts a plant-based antioxidant and retinol alternative called bakuchiol to stimulate collagen production, which can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

“We wanted it to be easily absorbed, so you can put it on, slather on some sunscreen, and run out the door,” Matthews says. “You can simplify your routine. You can have really great skin and make it easy and attainable.”

This article appears in our November 2025 issue.

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