You could fly to Paris or Milan to find fashionable clothing. But looking in your backyard is a lot easier.

Columbus has plenty of style to go around, from unique boutiques downtown to retail behemoths such as Easton Town Center and Polaris Fashion Place. Columbus also has its own small-but-growing community of fashion designers who are constantly hatching new and exciting ideas.

CityScene spoke with five designers with local ties to get their thoughts on Columbus’ style, trends and more.

Kelli Martin, 28
History: The fashion bug bit Columbus native Martin at an early age, thanks to a grandmother who let her explore her artistic side. After graduating from Westland High School in 1998, Martin moved Los Angeles, attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She first sold her designs on a fledgling eBay. After graduating, Martin returned to Columbus. She opened her High Street store Black Market in 2006, where she sells vintage resale apparel and her own Anti.Label line. Martin was also one of two Columbus residents featured on the fifth season of the hit TV show Project Runway.
What she’s doing now: In addition to running her store, Martin says she is considering starting a men’s line under the Anti.Label name.
On Columbus’ style: “I think (Columbus) is definitely trying and could be on the map. It has a lot of potential, and there are crafty people here, but craftiness and the fashion industry are kind of different. I think people want to be high fashion, but they don’t know what to do.”
What should the fashion world know about Columbus? “The most creative people come from small cities. Then everyone leaves and takes their creativity to New York or L.A. You get it from the bottom and it trickles up. (Columbus has) the best thrift stores under the sun and the best vintage clothing.”
The clothing item you desire the most: “A vintage 1960s Vanity Fair leopard print pea coat that fits like a glove and isn’t boxy.”
A fashion trend that needs to die: “Ugg boots. I have a serious, serious hatred of Ugg boots.”
A look Central Ohio residents should try: “Go back to your roots. Wear the plaid, wear the cowgirl look. Layering stuff and mixing it up can change any outfit. Stay away from fads. That’s what’s going to kill you.”

Tad Boetcher, 37
History: Growing up in Columbus and Pickerington, Boetcher was most influenced by his mother, who had a job as an at-home party planner for B Line Fashions. A young Boetcher helped her make swatch books and cut fabric for the clothes. After graduating from Pickerington High School, Boetcher attended Kent State University’s fashion school before moving to New York and working for top designers in the fashion industry, including Michael Kors, Bill Blass, Ellen Tracy and Dana Buchman.
What he's doing now: Boetcher designs his own knitwear clothing line called tad b, which features upscale knits and intricate beadwork. The line is carried in all Lord & Taylor department stores and in 20 Dillard’s stores around the country. Boetcher flies back to Ohio several times a year to mentor design students at Kent State.
On Columbus’ style: “There are some people (in Columbus) for whom fashion is not a priority. Then there are people for whom quality and design are important. The Saks Fifth Avenue store in Columbus is one of the best performing (for that chain) in the region. So Columbus does have people that are interested. A blanket statement doesn’t work.”
What should the fashion world know about Columbus? “It is the test market for a lot of brands. It’s the average Midwestern and American town. You can get a good read on things.”
What fashion rules should be broken? “All fashion rules should be broken. I understand why they existed in the past, but it’s time to move forward. No white after Labor Day might have made sense 30 or 40 years ago, but there are no fashion rules anymore.”
When it comes to personal style, you should pay attention to: “Your hair. You can tell a lot about a person’s individual style by their hair. With a bag, a blazer and the shoes, it can all be an image.”
A fashion trend I embraced: “I lived through the grunge years. I lived that trend. I had the long hair and the holey jeans and the flannel shirts.”

Akira Burgess, 23
History: Burgess’ passion for fashion began at age 12, when his mother taught him how to sew. The skill helped Burgess merge two of his other passions, shopping and art, into more than hobbies. The Columbus native began designing clothes at 14, and displayed his handmade items locally in his first fashion show in 2007.
What he’s doing now: While Burgess’ clothes are currently not available in stores, he says he will begin selling items exclusively through his Web site, which will launch sometime this year. He has three lines he designs himself: Akira Takashi, which includes custom-made, one-of-a-kind pieces; Ichirou, a men’s line; and Kimono House Couture for women. Burgess is also enrolled in fashion design courses at the Illinois Institute of Art.
On Columbus’ style: “I think Columbus is a melting pot for fashion. You get a lot of different styles from every corner of the country, and everything mixes together. A few people stand out because they take things from different coasts. But then you have some people who pick whatever is trendy and they gravitate toward that.”
What should the fashion world know about Columbus? We’re not some little po-dunk town. We don’t have wheat fields and there aren’t tractors riding down the street. We have a lot of big businesses and corporate offices here, and we do dress nice.”
Is there an apparel item you wish hadn’t been invented? “I hate flip-flops – those regular thong flip flops. Not everybody has cute feet.”
When it comes to personal style, you should pay attention to: “Make-up is a very big issue. Everything is crooked, like eye make-up. They’re wearing colors that don’t look good on them. It’s too exaggerated. They wear too-dark lip and eyeliner. Or they’ll do too much and they don’t look natural.”

Audra Cheek, 32
History: Raised in Defiance, Cheek came to Columbus for an art education at the Columbus Academy of Art and Design. After graduating, Cheek began working in galleries and other jobs in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami and more. Cheek returned to Columbus to open Gallery 83 in 2008, and soon began creating her own line of clothing for men and women called ADD-VINTAGE. The line takes previously owned vintage clothing and re-purposes it to create a new, one-of-a-kind item.
What’s she’s doing now: Cheek is working on getting her clothing into various small boutiques around the country. Currently it is only sold at Gallery 83.
On Columbus’ style: “The downtown population – Short North, German Village, Grandview, campus area – these people are willing to grow and change, and then you have suburbia, which is stuck. I think we’re trying, but we’re not totally there yet. I think we can grow more, but we need to have people setting the bar, doing it, wearing it, being it, because other people will catch on.”
A fashion faux pas Columbus residents are guilty of is: “Knowing how and when to wear (certain items). We are so sports-oriented, a woman might have on a nice coat and under it she’s wearing an Ohio State jersey.”
When it comes to size: “Dress it. If you are a size 8, wear it. If you’re a woman who’s a size 6 or 8, don’t wear something big and bulky. If you’re a larger woman, don’t wear something too small. They’ll look more attractive because it actually fits their body.”
On the definition of “dressed up:” “I believe that if you wear fashionable jeans and hats and scarves and accessories, you can look more dressed up than people who are wearing a pair of khakis and are ‘dressed up.’ It’s how you wear it.”
Best piece of fashion advice: “Don’t do it because someone else says so. Do it because you say so.”

Jeff Sheu, 22, and Dustin Dyer, 21
History: Sheu and Dyer, together with partner Stephen Vallera, are the creators of Rival Brand, a high-end clothing and jewelry line. The friends knew each other growing up in Gahanna and were always interested in fashion. Their passion for sophisticated and luxurious items inspired them to launch their own brand in the summer of 2008 with graphic t-shirts, tank tops and a signature anchor necklace. All three contribute to the designs and have since added two more partners and began selling in Columbus (at {milk bar} on High Street) and in a Chicago-area gallery. Rival Brand’s Web site, www.therivalbrand.com, re-launched in February.
What they’re doing now: Rival Brand is phasing out its women’s wear to focus exclusively on men’s styles. The company will debut cardigans, blazers and more in 2010. In the next five years, they would like to expand the number of stores that carry Rival Brand.
On Columbus’ style: Dyer: “I think Columbus does have a sense of style, but I think we’re trying to get out of the cookie-cutter, everyone’s-wearing-the-same-outfit situations. There’s not that much (label) diversity. If you’re in New York or Chicago, you’d find so many things you would never find here. It’s not that we don’t have the sense of style. We just don’t have options.”
Is Columbus’ style changing? Sheu: “I do see that changing a little. There are more people getting into fashion. People are actually going out and looking at fashion reviews, more are looking at new pieces by different designers, just going outside of the box a little. Give it five or six years, I do see it becoming pretty diverse in Columbus.”
Name a fashion misstep you’ve seen in Columbus: Sheu: “I can understand if you’re really down with Ohio State, but it’s not necessary to wear OSU jerseys left and right, especially when it’s not game night. Generally, the really unkempt look: some can pull it off, but a lot of people have no direction. They just kind of put random stuff together.”
When thinking about style, you should pay most attention to: Sheu: “Fit. That’s where a lot of people go wrong. Dyer: Everyone just buys (clothing) off the rack and they wear it as-is. If you buy a suit off the rack, it’s not made to fit your body style.”

Kate Lohnes is assistant editor of CityScene.