Lisa Maltese, the milliner behind Julep Hat Designs in downtown New Port Richey, is one of ten area designers selected to show work at Tampa Bay Fashion Week 2026. The event runs Sept. 23 to 26 at Shear Media Studios in St. Petersburg.

Maltese works from a studio in the historic Pasco Building on Grand Boulevard, above Ella's Greek Restaurant. She builds custom fascinators and ready made hats using sinamay, netting, silk abaca, crinoline, quills and goose and pheasant feathers. A custom design runs about $400 and includes one complimentary edit. Much of her usual work is the showy headwear worn at the Kentucky Derby and other premier events.

Fashion Week asked for something different. Maltese has been building six pieces for the show since June, pushing past her Derby work toward a more fashion forward look. "Kentucky Derby is a little bit different than Fashion Week," she said. "Lots of feathers. Bigger. More fun." She describes the assignment as one that pushed her out of her comfort zone.

Maltese and her husband, Dan, are graduates of the former Ridgewood High School in New Port Richey. The couple kept their New Port Richey home through the 14 years they lived in Kentucky, where Lisa ran The Pink Julep Boutique and began designing hats eight years ago. Her work has since been featured on Fox 13, NBC WFLA's Daytime and News Nation.

She sees the job as bigger than the hat itself. "I'm not just a milliner who designs. I am also a stylist," she said. "I love taking someone's vision and bringing it to life." Details on Tampa Bay Fashion Week are at fashionweektampabay.com, and her work is at julephatdesigns.com.