DC Design IS A Masterclass In Friendship, Femininity And Luxury

There’s an art to being a good girlfriend, a phrase that, in Black girlhood culture, stretches beyond friendship and into legacy. It’s what many of us grew up watching: our mothers and their friends of 30 or 40 years, showing up for each other, borrowing sugar, watching the kids or school carpools, connecting each other to jobs, opportunities, or simply joy. It was our earliest model of community. What we now label as women’s empowerment was, and always has been, the simple act of sisterhood in motion.

Somewhere along the way, empowerment became an industry. It started to sound transactional, from panels, hashtags, and content ops, instead of long calls, late nights, and collective vision. But DC Design Week 2025 reminded us what it looks like when women return to that original art form: showing up for one another with authenticity, creativity, and love.

Meet Eden Patrick, Chair of DC Design Week, and Robbie Stanfield, Deputy Chair, two women who first crossed paths in their young adult years while working together, long before they’d lead one of D.C.’s most anticipated creative events. When Eden volunteered for DC Design Week the year prior, she saw its potential firsthand, and as the 2025 Chair, she knew Robbie was the perfect partner to help reimagine its nearly two-decade legacy.

What made this year’s Design Week so extraordinary was that it wasn’t built by strangers, it was powered by a community of women already connected through friendship, family, and creative collaboration. Some had been best friends since high school and college; others were neighbors, cousins, or longtime collaborators who had unknowingly been orbiting the same creative circles for years. Each woman brought her own gift but shared the same language of trust, care, and respect, the kind of chemistry you can’t manufacture, only nurture.

Too often, when women collaborate, the narrative defaults to competition, as if creativity can’t coexist with camaraderie. But this team embodied the opposite, rooted in decades of friendship, communication, and laughter. When asked how they managed creative disagreements, Aja said simply, “Submitting in disagreements when you respect each other’s gift.” That mutual respect became the throughline of their process.

Presented by AIGA DC, this year’s Design Week wasn’t just a series of panels or exhibits, it was a living example of what happens when women lead with intention. Under the leadership of Eden and Robbie, the 10-day celebration became a cultural reset for the District. The programming blended art, architecture, design, and film with the intimacy of friendship and the sophistication of luxury.

Across the city, DC Design Week unfolded through moments of connection and creativity, from private showings at Molteni&C’s new Italian luxury flagship in Georgetown and Chela Mitchell Gallery, to experiential dinners like Plated led by Executive Chef Toya Henry, and intimate gatherings at Drummond Projects. The programming ranged from portfolio reviews with D.C.’s top executives to Homegrown, which spotlighted cultural powerhouses like Cam Kirk, Aria Hughes of Complex, and Domo Wells, Creative Director of the Washington Spirit. Each experience invited attendees into an atmosphere of inclusive luxury, where artistry met access and creativity thrived as both culture and community. Sponsored by Porsche, Arc’teryx, Adobe, and others, the week balanced refinement with realness, proof that elegance and community aren’t opposites, they’re kin.

That spirit of togetherness feels especially timely, considering a recent Ally Bank survey found that people spend an average of $250 a month on activities with friends. And yes, we love the girl dinners and the trips. But DC Design Week reminded us that when we invest that same energy into building community and legacy within our friendships, we don’t just lower the cost, we raise the value. Because when sisterhood becomes purpose-driven, it doesn’t just sustain us; it creates something that lasts far beyond the moment. And that may just be the most worthwhile investment of all.