New York may be the epicenter of the fashion world, but its success depends on inclusion and growth. Some of that growth is coming from St. Louis in both predictable and unexpected ways.

St. Louisans who come to participate in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, when the nation's top designers flaunt their vision of what women and men should be wearing next season, aren't a rarity. The magnetic pull of the nation's fashion capital during the most influential fashion event of the year (twice a year) entangles more and more St. Louisans each year.

Among the faithful are two local model scouts who bring in models (including one of the most ubiquitous at Fashion Week — Karlie Kloss) from St. Louis to walk the runways and take part in international fashion editorials; business executives at the Town and Country-based Kellwood Corp. who go to monitor the design labels owned by the corporation and foster new brands; hair and makeup artists who spend their days backstage servicing a steady stream of lanky models; and then there are the surprised, giddy random people they encounter when they happen to be wearing a Cardinals baseball cap or a university T-shirt from the area.

No one can pinpoint when St. Louis became a player in New York's fashion week, but one thing is clear: The growing influence from the city is making it easier for others to enter and thrive. When Kloss is the city's fashion poster child, we're in good company.

The founding editor in chief of Allure magazine, Linda Wells, joked that the March issue celebrating the magazine's 20th anniversary might just be an ode to St. Louis. Victoria Beckham is on the cover, but supermodel Kloss of Webster Groves is featured in a story and photo spread that spans many, many pages. The magazine also features Katie Fogarty of St. Louis, who recently moved to New York to be closer to her full-time modeling profession.

And most significantly, Wells, though born in New York and raised in Connecticut, considers herself a St. Louisan. This is, after all, where she went to high school (Mary Institute). She said that she sat with Kloss at a party earlier this week celebrating Allure's anniversary and reminisced about her love of the city.

"We talked about Steak 'n Shake and all the stuff we miss," Wells said. "St. Louis is a good place to be from in this business because you need to be grounded, have really good values."

Drew Schaefering, an elite hairstylist with two pro styling teams, said that after working the 15 shows he has this season, he looks forward to returning home to St. Louis.

"It's a great place to retreat to, and it's full of great people," Schaefering said. He said that coming to New York allows him an intense experience to learn and grow, but St. Louis allows him time to reflect and rejuvenate. The combination, he said, makes him better, though he doesn't rule out leaving one day.

Kloss agrees that her roots here allow for a nice respite from the hectic world in which she is the face of multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns, walking in designer shows from New York to Milan. She appreciates that she gets to go home, pull on a hoodie and blend into a crowd of young girls.

Discovered by Jeff and Mary Clarke, Kloss, who will graduate from Webster Groves High School in the spring, and Fogarty are thriving in the industry. The Clarkes are managing seven girls and two guys for this tour of fashion weeks, but other models from the area also are participating. The newest model under the Clarkes' care is A.J. Strutman. She was discovered walking down Delmar Boulevard at age 13, and now on the verge of her 16th birthday, she is finally walking in her first batch of runway shows — 14 of them to be exact.

"The hair and makeup stuff gets old pretty fast, but what I like most is going new places," Strutman said in a phone interview while she waited at a Calvin Klein casting call. She had been up since about 5 a.m., had already walked in one show and had three more shows lined up for what would be a long day.

Newbie model Robert Jackson King III of St. Louis, who traveled to New York on his own about a month ago to work in modeling, was one of the humorous subjects of a Washington Post article that began with these words: "One of Fashion Week's awkward truths: Male models can't walk." He was described as 18 with a devastating smile and a walking problem.

Still other models are categorized as "under development," which means that they are usually too young, waiting to get braces on or off, trying to balance their weight or just in need of polishing. Devon Winsor, a junior at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, is waiting until she graduates in 2012 before she walks at fashion week. Her school won't let her do schoolwork remotely for the three plus weeks that it requires to walk in the gantlet of international shows each fashion season, but she already has a signed contract with IMG Fashion, the organization that coordinates the schedule of international fashion weeks.

"They think she's worth waiting for, and so do I," said Gail Lasater of West Model and Talent Management. "This summer, she may go to Europe to develop her (modeling) book," by working for various fashion magazines and campaigns, "but right now her parents feel like the school experience is the most important thing for her — proms, homecomings and being a kid." Obviously, a lot of people raise families in New York, but time and again, people said that family and the slower pace were what they appreciated most about St. Louis and the region.

Mike Kramer, chief executive officer of Kellwood Corp., is a native of Kansas City, Kan., but has called St. Louis home for the last two years. His company is in the midst of a clothing brand buying spree. It has recently acquired Adam by Adam Lippes and Rebecca Taylor. The company is now prepared to launch a variety of new brands including an online-based luxury denim brand that debuted this week, BLK DNM (pronounced "black denim") by Johan Lindeberg formerly of Diesel, and a lower-priced Abercrombie and Fitch-style fashion brand to be designed by Lippes debuting later this year.

"I love St. Louis. I want to raise my kids here," said Kramer, who has two school-age children. He spoke while sitting in the audience after Lippes' runway show. Kellwood is celebrating 50 years in the St. Louis area.

Kramer said that so far, Kellwood's creative talent lives in Los Angeles and New York, but the nuts and bolt of the company, including information technology, human resources, logistics and legal, are based firmly in St. Louis.

Although he travels 50 percent of the year, Kramer said that being based in St. Louis is often seen as a plus for the company. He said that the city suits the sincere, no-nonsense image of the company. Kellwood has won bids to acquire 100 percent of brands, like Adam, not always by being the highest bidder, but by being the most genuine and fair, Kramer said.

Backstage after his fashion show, Lippes said Kramer was the first person looking to acquire his company who walked in and said, —"'I like these clothes.' No one else said that; they just walked in talking profit margins." Now Lippes is preparing to open a storefront in New York's swanky designer boutique-filled Meatpacking District and launch an international expansion. He said he had investors for five years, but eventually, he needed more than money, he needed a support team.

Lippes said that the fact that that team is based in St. Louis has not been an issue because assistance is always there when he needs it.

He was one of many who joked that in the age of the Internet, St. Louis is just around the corner from New York.

See the biggest trends from New York Fashion Week in Sunday's Home & Away and online at stltoday.com/stylefile.