Shop the collection locally at Rhodes Boutique and II Brunettes
Elizabeth Ackerman officially debuts her clothing line, Elizabeth James the Label, with the spring 2025 collection.
Climbing cactus flowers, bold waves of pastel, dark and delicate chinoiserie—vibrant custom prints define Elizabeth James the Label. The new Charleston-based clothing line borrows inspiration from vintage textiles, balancing bright splashes of color and bold patterns with approachable silhouettes and easygoing fabrics. Altogether, it’s a recipe for versatile garments that move with women across myriad settings and stages of life.
For founder Elizabeth Ackerman, the line is personal by design. “As a child of the ’70s and a teen in the ’80s, I’m drawn to vintage prints and unique color combinations,” she says of her dresses and separates suited for women of all ages. Playful yet sophisticated, they embody the options she’s wanted in her closet as she’s transitioned from her early career through motherhood to her professional second act.
Ackerman’s love of fashion fueled a career in New York City’s editorial scene of the 1990s, where she cut her teeth as an assistant stylist before securing a fashion editor position at Woman’s Day magazine. It was also in the city that she met her husband, Jay Ackerman, a photographer who captured the likes of Iman, Brooke Shields, and George Clooney. In 2000, Ackerman paused her career to raise their three sons, but in time, she felt the pull of the fashion world—this go-round, however, her eye was on design and manufacturing.
Ackerman knew she had much to learn about the other side of the biz. As fate would have it, clothing designer Gretchen Scott lived down the street and offered a crash course in apparel production. She also enlisted the help of Fashion Institute of Technology interns to show her the ropes of recoloring and resizing prints in digital formats. The education equipped her to launch her own line, Elizabeth Ackerman New York, in 2016. Two years later, she cofounded Olivia James the Label.
In 2023, Ackerman debuted Elizabeth James the Label. The pieces that ensued—breezy dresses, crisp pants, and blousy tops—are at home in her new base of Charleston, where she relocated from New York during COVID.
With a mostly female staff (husband Jay handles the photography and acts as CFO) operating out of the company’s Mount Pleasant headquarters, Elizabeth James the Label offers five collections annually.
While the brand launched a couple seasonal releases last year, its official debut comes with this spring’s collection. It’s sold online and in more than 250 stores nationwide, as well as locally at II Brunettes and Rhodes Boutique. “It gives me great joy to design clothes that people love, and I am blessed to be surrounded by a dream team of talented women who make our company what it is today,” says Ackerman.
By the Numbers
