Our Story


Annette’s passion for fashion had her designing from a young age.  She graduated with a Fashion Merchandising and Business degree and worked for major retail organizations, with an expertise in Buying, Merchandise Management and Sales Management creating product assortments and providing leadership to increase sales, profit, and customer satisfaction.

In 1997 she began the journey to revolutionize the women’s apparel industry using technology solutions and launched a women’s custom Made to Measure fashion business located in Cincinnati, OH.  The business was founded under the name The Garment District, in 2002 changed the name to Annette Ellen Designs to better reflect the personalized fashion brand.  

Annette relocated to the Jacksonville, FL area in 2012 and began a new venture to reposition the business to include both of her passions - fashion and equestrian. She started designing and selling Ready to Wear women's fashions and custom equestrian show competition coats at equestrian shows.  In addition, created an online store for both collections.

The AWE (Annette Wallander Equestrian) brand was created in 2018 which includes Ready to Wear equestrian show coats that Annette sells at equestrian shows and online.  She started a wholesale division for the Annette Ellen women's fashion and AWE brands, selling to boutiques and tack shops.