Mary Gehlhar is an advisor, educator and author of The Fashion Designer Survival Guide the best-selling book which guides aspiring and emerging fashion designers through the many challenges of starting and growing their own fashion brand.
Mary served for 10 years as Fashion Director of Gen Art, creating and directing fashion programming to support hundreds of emerging designers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. Mary scouted the market for the most promising new talents and produced their Fashion Week debuts. She established educational programs and selling opportunities in partnership with retailers and the CFDA to support designers on their journeys as entrepreneurs. Mary consulted on show development and led the selection process for the first three seasons of the Bravo’s Project Runway.
Mary serves as adjunct faculty at the Parsons New School for Design in New York and lends her expertise as a speaker and jury member at fashion schools, incubators and organizations including Fashion Group International, the Korean Ministry of Culture and Arts, Pratt Institute, and Savannah College of Art and Design. As one of few experts on the topic of burgeoning designers, Mary is an industry resource to prestigious media outlets, including the New York Times, British Vogue, The Washington Post, and the Boston Globe.
