The debut of the new label “Burnett New York” is a marriage made in fashion heaven. Businesswoman Sterling McDavid met Emily Burnett while searching for the perfect custom Wedding Gown.  
At the time, Emily was creative director for designer Dennis Basso.

Sterling McDavid, now the Co-CEO & President of Burnett New York, says of the experience, "When I finally put on my gown for my final fitting I just looked at her and was like, 'how are you not on your own? You are an unbelievable talent,' and she goes, "Well that’s my dream, but I know what I don’t know and I don’t know how to start a business," and I was like, 'Well I do.''"
　
Emily Burnett, now Co-CEO & Creative Director of Burnett New York, admits it was an "aha" moment. "We realized that we were really good partners."

So with McDavid on the business side and Burnett overseeing the creative side, they launched their own line.

Female empowerment and inclusion is central to the brand. Women investors are providing a lot of their funding. And a portion of their sales is directed to UNICEF’s girls education programs. 　

And when they finally make their debut on the runway at fashion week, it was clear that fabulous, female film icons of the 80’s inspired much of the collection. Emily is clearly a film buff. "Like Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Pfeiffer, just these women that exhibit power and confidence. I love Sigourney Weaver, but specifically for this collection I was referencing Half Moon Street ,which is one of my favorites. And then for Michelle Pfeiffer Scarface is one of my favorites and she comes out in that gown."

This season we've see a lot of inclusivity on the runway and at Burnett that extends to age with one model in her 60's on the catwalk. Sterling loves it, but also doesn't think it's a big deal. "I think women many times are their most beautiful in their later years in life so I never understood why it’s not highlighted enough."
　
All of the elegant cocktail and evening pieces are made at their garment center showroom. During our visit, I noticed that many of the models in the sketches on the mood board looked a lot like Sterling. So I asked Emily, "Is that Sterling in the sketches?"

She admits she can't help but be inspired by her business partner. And together they hope to inspire others as well with a female-led company showing powerful looks for all kinds of women.