That's why he and other retailers are excited about a city initiative created to do precisely that.
Called the Philadelphia Collection 2010, it's a two-week series of trunk shows, open houses and fashion shows organized by the Office of the City Representative.
The Collection, announced yesterday at the Piazza at Schmidts, in Northern Liberties, kicks off Sept. 23 with a "girls' night out" event at Joan Shepp on Walnut Street. Dozens of events will follow, concluding with a fashion show and mixer at Banana Republic by FBH - The Agency on Oct. 2.
No, it's not going to be like New York's famed fashion week, during which big-time designers show off their spring collections to buyers from around the world and A-list celebrities.
But the Collection 2010 could well be a start in terms of organizing Philadelphia's disparate fashion elements, which for too long have all been doing their own thing. You might hear about one group's starting a Philadelphia Fashion Week, then a few weeks later, you'd hear about another. It's been confusing to keep track of who is doing what.
Now there will be some cohesion.
"It's a matter of being able to come together and work as a unit. In New York, it doesn't matter who you are," said Solomon Williams, who's planning his own event on Saturday, a Caribbean Fashion Weekend Show and Benefit Auction for Haiti, at Vernon Park on Germantown Avenue.
"Here, there's a lot of hating that takes place. 'My designs are better than yours.' 'I was in school before you,' " Williams continued. "It's time for Philadelphia to grow up and mature as an entire community."
Williams won't be part of this year's Philadelphia Collection, but many of the city's best-known fashion players - designer Ron Wilch, stylist Stephanie Can, Phasion Phest's Sharon Waxman and Paula Hian, for example - will be.
