When people hear the words “fashion mecca,” they tend to think of Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo. Rarely does San Francisco come to mind. But thanks to a plethora of up-and-coming designers, that is about to change. Now, more than ever, local designers are determined to break Bay Area boundaries and show the rest of the world what they’ve got.

“I want to start a new trend,” says Lloyd de Vera, co-founder and main artist for Nautiks clothing. “It’s going to happen, I see it coming.”

Along with his older brother, Paul de Vera, the two started Nautiks a year ago in Pinole, Calif. Since then, the urban clothing company has attracted lots of attention with their eye-catching hand-painted shirts. Last July, they were nominated for “Urban Designer of the Year” at the first Bay Area Rap Scene (BARS) Awards. “That really brought our self-esteem up. It let us know that we could really do it,” said de Vera.

"Booyowski," host and executive producer of the underground television show, “Hipnotik TV,” created the BARS Awards to expose Bay Area talent. From clothing companies to rappers to barber shops, Booyowski wanted to make sure the Bay Area was no longer overlooked.

“With more exposure, companies will have the chance to get a nationwide look and become a brand of unique and hip fashion,” Booyowski says.

From old school to new school, stylish artists like Slick Rick and Kanye West have emphasized how important clothing is in hip-hop culture. Consequently, the rising popularity of Bay Area rap has revitalized urban fashion. Nautiks, U2Design and Big Mouth are just some of the many companies who capitalize on this.

Joshua Calubaquib, an employee at clothing and shoe store First Step on Market Street, sees how big an impact the local rap scene has played on their merchandise. First Step has sold U2Design clothing for the past four years, but it wasn’t until a year ago that they had to start loading up on their gear.

However, even he agrees that people from New York aren’t going to wear clothing that says, “The Bay Way” or “415” on it. “As long as companies don’t put a limit on their designs they’ll be able to expand,” Calubaquib says.

San Francisco rapper Evan Kidera agrees. Although he’s happy there are more local designers, he says many local clothing companies are unsuccessful because they fail to market themselves to a vast population outside of the Bay Area.

“We need to get clothing out there so that others know what we do,” Kidera says. “If you want to do it big, you go big, then small. Not small, then big. Feel me?”

Nautiks has done just that by selling custom-made shirts that cater to the individual buyer’s needs and tastes, so not only people from the Bay Area can enjoy them. And it’s working. The company has gotten international recognition from consumers in Switzerland and London, who recently placed an order through their online store.

Other companies like Dopeness Monster, Nicacelly, and Evolve Universal have taken another approach by leaving the blatant Bay Area neighborhood references out of their clothing designs completely.

Neal Hilo, founder and creative director of Dopeness Monster utilized the company as a way to fuse local underground art and vintage fashion together. While fashion is apparent in urban cities, Dopeness Monster wanted people to recognize that there is a prominent fashion sense in the suburbs as well.

“We are starting to see many of the indie clothing brands at more of the boutique shows we go to each season,” says Hilo. “As long as people keep supporting the Bay Area fashion scene, I believe that soon enough, these brands will get the recognition they deserve.”

According to Felicity Villegas, assistant manager at True on Haight Street, a large percentage of their local designer tees are bought by tourists. These customers usually come back during their next visit to San Francisco because of the phenomenal responses they get when they bring the clothes back home.

This doesn’t surprise Villegas. “We carry fashion-forward designs that are sometimes political,” Villegas says. “They’re always original.”

Dr. Connie Ulasewicz, assistant professor for the consumer family studies and dietetics department and fashion merchandising advisor at San Francisco State University, sees a big change in Bay Area fashion coming up. Since T-shirt designs are practically walking billboards, she says they are a popular and affordable way to support your local designers and represent where you’re from.

“Give us a little more time, two to five years,” said Ulasewicz. “I see a great emergence of the Bay Area and it becoming a mecca again.”