A global celebration of homemade fashion is finally landing in Northeast Ohio. Cleveland Frocktails debuts October 18 at CLE Urban Winery in Cleveland Heights, bringing sewists, quilters, knitters and other makers together for an afternoon of wine, food and a runway show featuring attendees' own handmade creations.
The event, first reported by Cleveland.com, marks the first Cleveland gathering connected to the international Frocktails movement. Frocktails is an organized celebration of self-made fashion, according to the Guardian Australia.
Cleveland Frocktails will run from 2 to 6 p.m. on October 18 at CLE Urban Winery, located at 2180B Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, per Cleveland.com's reporting. General admission tickets cost $55, with VIP tickets priced at $75, and both are available through Dru Christine Fabrics & Design. The gathering welcomes not just sewists but quilters, knitters, crafters and anyone who simply appreciates handmade work — and attendees don't need to have made anything themselves to attend, the outlet reports.
An Organizer's Homecoming to Lee Road
The event is organized by Dru Thompson, who told Cleveland.com she wondered why Frocktails could not happen in Cleveland. Thompson began sewing at age 13 and went on to earn a degree in fashion merchandising from the University of Akron before moving to Los Angeles to work as a costume designer and stylist in television and film, according to Dru Christine Fabrics & Design. She later returned to Cleveland to showcase apparel, bringing more than 30 years of experience in sewing and fashion to the venture.
Before turning fully to her own business, Thompson taught fashion design at the Virginia Marti College of Art & Design and the Cleveland Institute of Art, and she founded the fashion design program at the Cleveland School of the Arts, the company's own account notes. Her work today spans fashion design, sewing education, creative business coaching and costume design for film and television, and she has written books on business, sewing and film costume design, per Cleveland.com.
There's a geographic symmetry to the choice of venue. Dru Christine Fabrics & Design originally opened in 2012 on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights — just blocks from the Frocktails venue — before the business moved to a studio on East 25th Street in Cleveland and evolved into an educational and custom design firm, according to CoolCleveland. Hoodline previously covered a free fashion yard sale Thompson hosted at that East 25th Street studio back in 2019.
Wine, Food and a Runway Show
CLE Urban Winery itself has a story rooted in reinvention. The business was established in 2016 by retired U.S. Navy officer Destiny Burns inside a converted auto repair garage in the Cedar-Lee neighborhood, according to the Heights Observer. The winery produces Cleveland-themed wine, naming its products after local landmarks and historic neighborhoods, and was voted Best New Business of 2017 in a FutureHeights community poll.
Cleveland Frocktails will pour wine from the host venue alongside food catered by Ola Rae's Catering, according to Cleveland.com's reporting. The afternoon's centerpiece is a runway show in which attendees can model their own handmade creations — the same mix of socializing, cocktails and fashion that has defined Frocktails gatherings elsewhere.
Part of a Broader Creative Push
Thompson's push to bring Frocktails to Cleveland fits a pattern for her. She previously launched SewCLE, a local media and community initiative, according to WKYC. The initiative is part of Thompson's broader creative work.
Sewing and garment making are part of the broader handmade world, as discussed by the Craft Industry Alliance.
The handmade sector includes crafts, artisan goods and DIY garment construction, as described by the IMARC Group.
For Cleveland Heights, Cleveland Frocktails offers a local entry point into that global current — a chance for sewists, designers, crafters and fashion enthusiasts to show off what they've made, while recalling where Thompson first opened her doors on Lee Road.
