Native Washingtonian Shantae Flowers is a D.C. Fashion Incubator participant. When she left her 9-to-5 job, Flowers knew she wanted to take the plunge into entrepreneurism, and decided to turn her love of fashion into a full-time career.

She taught herself to sew and took classes at the Art Institute of Washington, learning the ins-and-outs of retail management, fashion history, and branding. A stint at D.C. Fashion Week followed, as did her acceptance to the Fashion Incubator, where she has been a resident designer for two years.

Her line, Belle Flowers Designs, specializes primarily in made-to-order gowns and evening wear, though Flowers is quick to add that she can make whatever a client wants. She’s created four collections so far, with themes ranging from “Winter in Madagascar” to a “Lavender Lakes” collection of purple-hued capes and dresses.

The underlying theme, though, is luxury. Flowers’ overall business is named Chante La Belle Epoque LLC, combing the French era of innovation with the French spelling of her first name, which translates as “to sing.”

Flowers wants her business to “sing” a new wave of couture, she says, one in which the romance and luxury of getting dressed is still alive.

“Luxury is just in the craftsmanship and fabrication that I choose,” she says. “I’m presenting myself as a new era to the fashion world.”