PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — If the Eagles are still frustrating the daylights out of you, this is a Philadelphia sports story — with a flair for fashion — that will make you smile.
You might already know about Nancy Volpe Beringer. She was a runner-up on season 18 of Bravo's "Project Runway" and has an Instagram following over 30,000 people strong. She has also been on a billboard in New York City's Times Square.
Volpe Beringer makes Philadelphia sports-themed fashion designs.
"It's innate, that you do whatever you can as a fan. So, I started to make some outfits to go the games, and it just kinda spread and caught fire," she said.
Notably, former Philadelphia Eagle Anthony Harris wore one of her faux furs on the field at the Linc the night the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl LVII. And in the run-up to the big game, at a pep rally fashion show, Volpe Beringer showcased an Eagles-themed wedding gown she made.
Paige Bieker and former Eagles safety Anthony Harris in faux fur coats at playoff after the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl LVII.Courtesy of Nancy Volpe Beringer
Kyle Lindstrom
(Heads up — last I heard from her, she said the gown is still available.)
Volpe Beringer's story is made for Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection — a story full of underdog grit that says, 'Yo, I got your back.'
Unhappy in her career, she decided in her 50s to drop her stable management job to take up fashion design, and she enrolled in Drexel University's master's degree program.
After graduating at 61, she showed some guts by applying for "Project Runway," a show not known for contestants in their 60s. Not only did she make history, but she almost won, paired with Tatyana McFadden, an athlete in the Paralympic Games, in the season 18 finale.
Nancy Volpe Beringer on "Project Runway" with Paralympian Tatyana McFadden.Nick Verreos
Kyle Lindstrom
"She's the fastest wheelchair woman racer in the world," Volpe Beringer said. And if her fellow competitors were intimidated by working with someone who uses a wheelchair, she embraced it. "So my collection was actually the most inclusive runway show they ever had."
That work sent her career in fashion on an upward trajectory, but after the finale aired in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, and lockdown started. In addition to that, a fire at her Philadelphia home displaced her and her husband, Ted Beringer.
But, in true Philadelphia fashion, Volpe Beringer persevered and continues to thrive in the world of fashion — while putting Philly on top.
Nancy Volpe Beringer is shown on a Times Square billboard.Peter Pabon for Fashion Impact Fund
"Philadelphia is home to the world's only luxury resale site that I will complimentary offer adaptive options for the disabled. It doesn't exist anywhere. And we can say Philadelphia is at the forefront of this."
See for yourself at her two websites, Nancy Volpe Beringer and The Vault By Volpe Beringer, where you can learn more about her adaptive designs. There is also an Instagram account for Her Vault By Volpe Beringer online store is also on Instagram.
"Fashion is about expressing your individuality. And for me, everybody should have that opportunity," she said. "Whether you're able-bodied, disabled, who you represent, your gender. It should be accessible to everyone."
To hear more about Volpe Beringer's story, click below to hear this week's episode of the KYW Newsradio Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week:
