CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — There are some people that can walk into a room and command attention without trying. Joquetta Wright, founder of the ‘Free Mama Movement’, is that person.

She brings with her a passion to support mothers, making sure that they are giving themselves something. Wright draws from her own experiences as a mother, where she encountered challenges to being able to focus on herself. While she welcomed motherhood, she wanted people to see her as more than a mom.

As a fashionista and stylist, Wright has managed to marry her love of style and her vision to help other mothers feel good about themselves through the founding of ‘Free Mama.‘

Her online presence has been a way to speak life into women who may be juggling one too many things, including motherhood. It’s what sparked the first ‘Poised & Proper’ fashion show in 2024. The gathering brings moms together for an unforgettable evening of food, fellowship, and fashion.

This year’s event will see eight designers, all moms, bring their fashion to the runway at Charleston’s Union Station. Designer Bridgette Sloan, a ‘Poised and Proper” attendee in 2024, is now a featured designer. In a chance opportunity, she slipped Joquetta Wright her business card, which led to her runway debut at the ‘Free Mama’ fashion show the following year.

Her love of sewing and crocheting started at the age of nine, and has evolved to her even crocheting her own wedding dress. “I had to wear white gloves, and it took me five months to make it,” she said. Her designs at this year’s event are bohemian-inspired. Sloan becomes tearful when recalling how she has been able to bond with Wright and the models, calling them ‘family.’ It’s that kind of experience that is the center of the ‘Free Mama Movement’ and the ‘Poised & Proper’ fashion show.

The theme for 2026 is “From Lemons to Luxe.” It’s personal to Wright, who suffered a loss in 2024. She came to learn that a lot of the mothers who were a part of past fashion shows had also experienced the loss of a loved one. Through the grief, they still managed to pull themselves together to keep moving forward and make lemonade out of lemons.

In an April 23, 2026 interview with rollingout.com, Wright mentions that “grief can be any hardship, any adjustment that you have to make.” The ‘Poised & Proper’ fashion show is an intentional space to celebrate mothers, to cheer them on, to let them know that they are not alone, and to give them an opportunity to cast their troubles aside and just have fun.

The evening is open to those who support mothers.

Poised & Proper Fashion Show