Funeral services were held earlier this month for fashion designer Charlene Hyman, who counted Grammy winner Patti LaBelle and Grace Jones among other clients.

Hyman, 68, died peacefully on June 20 at her home in Baltimore while recovering from some health issues following surgery, according to her friend of 40 years and fellow fashion designer Carlous Palmer.

The Baltimore-born designer built her career in her hometown and started her company Hyman & Hyman Fashion Designers in 1970. She started the business with her husband Harvey Sanford, and their son Darrius Hyman-Sanford continues to run the company that focuses on custom clothing for individual clients. Palmer recalled Tuesday meeting Hyman in the mid-1970s, when she was on a local television dance show “Soul of the City.” Hyman danced on the show, designed costumes for performers and “kind of did everything,” Palmer said.

After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School, she enrolled at Baltimore City Community College. From 1976 to 1978, she studied fashion design and the history of costume design in what was then Baltimore’s first two-year fashion program, according to Sally DiMarco, who taught there at that time and hails from a family that ran a fashion design school in Cefalù, Italy. “She was a ball of fire. She had that drive and passion that reminded me of myself at that age, in that she was going to make it happen. And she did,” DiMarco said.

Many might not know how Baltimore was once second to New York City in terms of domestic apparel manufacturing, she noted. As a student, Hyman was a member of the fashion design club and traveled to New York on the trips that DiMarco led to introduce students to the fashion industry. Hyman took part in Essence magazine’s Black Designer Showcase, and she was part of Ebony’s traveling Fashion Fair for multiple years. She was reportedly featured in the Congressional Black Caucus Show for 10 years, the Canadian Salute to Black Fashion Designers, the Baltimore International Women’s Show and numerous Trais Winkey productions. In 1992, she outshone 400 other contenders to win a design competition that led to a trip to Paris and being showcased in an international platform.

Hyman’s skills extended beyond sewing to include knitting, crocheting, patternmaking, draping, sketching, beading and painting. She had a grasp for the amount of work that is needed to succeed in fashion, according to Palmer. “A lot of people don’t — they think it’s this fun, cool thing that people do. It is a serious business. I know many people don’t take it seriously. Here in Baltimore, some people don’t have a huge respect for this business unfortunately,” he said.

Unlike in France, where government-funded programs support the fashion industry and officials recognize that fashion is an important industry, that is not comparable in the U.S., Palmer said, “Charlene went unappreciated [in her lifetime.] Also, artists are often not valued until they are gone.”

In a proclamation that was given to Hyman’s family, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott described her as a beloved resident and fashion trailblazer. “Charlene Hyman was the first fashion design student at Baltimore City College and became known in the fashion industry as a creative force in Baltimore and beyond,” according to the proclamation.

Her designs were featured on NBC’s “The Today Show,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” as well as in the pages of People magazine. Her own unofficial wardrobe consisted of leggings with an oversize, colorful caftan. Although Hyman worked with celebrity clients, that was not a topic of conversation with Palmer. “We talked more about our dissatisfaction about the politics of fashion in Baltimore and creative stuff. Also, she was more of a spiritual adviser,” said Palmer, adding that young artists need guidance to understand the career paths they are setting out on and to “manage their gifts.”

In addition to her son, Hyman is survived by her siblings, whose names were not immediately known.