“It’s literally a statistical fact that Detroit/Metro Detroit is largely blue collar. Detroit isn’t known for its fashion internationally whatsoever …” — tweet on X
Editor’s note: As a child, I loved going to the Ebony Fashion Fair at Cobo Hall downtown with my mother in the 1970s. For half a century, beautiful Black models toured the world wearing Givenchy, Dior, Valentino and other haute couture designers while featuring new Black designers and challenging white-focused beauty standards. The event raised money for the United Negro College Fund and projects including sickle cell anemia research. A ticket purchase came with a subscription to Jet or Ebony magazine, which were delivered to our home in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, until I graduated high school in 1984. As for the idea that Detroit’s blue collar roots clash with fashion design? Well, Carhartt remains one of the most successful design brands on the planet.
While Detroit may be known for automobiles, its reputation has evolved as a fashion hub that’s capturing the eye of global brands in the competitive hunt for design talent.
“I cannot believe the great work they are doing,” said Millie de la Valette, head of creative talent acquisition for Louis Vuitton, who flew from Paris to Detroit in April.
“Many schools in Europe, even in Italy, are closing the accessories department. Accessories matter for a brand. They sell more bags, shoes or eyewear than ready-to-wear. When you dream of buying something expensive — that you can keep forever — you’re going to buy a bag,” she said. “And it’s hard to find young designers.”
She travels to schools in Asia, Europe and North America, including the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
On this day, de la Valette waited to see the annual fashion and accessories show spotlighting students from the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit, held this year in the skywalk of the Somerset Collection. Hundreds of spectators flocked to Troy for the event.
Talent scouts traveled cross-country from Banana Republic, Fear of God and Tapestry.
‘Detroit is really exotic’
Artist Silvia Prada, senior concept partner at Kate Spade by way of Barcelona, is used to visiting London, Paris, San Francisco and Chicago. She said the Detroit design students reflect a strong connection with the city’s art, architecture, electronic music and industrial history.
“It’s all related,” she told me during her stay in Detroit. “For me, being a European, Detroit is really exotic. Just the scale and architecture. It’s stunning, this city … Here, I feel like, omigod. Am I dreaming? I’ve discovered spaces that, for me, feel very sexy. It all feels very special.”
Prada immersed herself in the art and music scenes while visiting friends in the D. She mentioned the Diego Rivera mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Queer art exhibitions and the Guardian Building skyscraper, known for its Art Deco architecture.
Aki Choklat, an internationally recognized luxury shoe designer and author, has become a magnet since moving from London, England, to teach and chair the fashion design department at CCS a decade ago. His focus is shoemaking, accessories and leather goods.
“It’s a challenging world at the moment but I really do see optimism in the students,” he told me. “I’ve lived through a lot … And I think of these young ones, you have the world ahead of you. You can do anything.”
From ice hockey to Stuart Weitzman
Bryce Truby, 24, of Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, began his shoe design internship this month in New York City with luxury brand Stuart Weitzman.
Truby dreamed of playing college hockey after graduating from Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, even taking a detour in Pueblo, Colorado, to play junior hockey. He started exploring digital art and considered majoring in animation after watching “Love, Death + Robots” short films on Netflix, then enrolled at CCS.
A fashion class in Detroit re-routed his life plan. Now he spends 14 hours a day in the studio, including weekends.
“This community is super tight knit. Everybody pushes each other to be better. I’m inspired by my classmates. We gather our own materials, pattern every single piece, sew it all together. I made all the shoes and bags and belts myself,” Truby said. “For the clothing in this collection, I designed the pieces and then worked with three different local sewers and pattern makers to help bring them to life.”
Working with accessories, especially something like footwear that needs to be structurally sound and comfortable, every detail matters down to the millimeter, he said. “It probably took me 12 different prototypes to get the final version of my cowboy boot. You have to think about how many millimeters each stitch is going to be.”
Precision is essential when it comes to technical detail, requiring designers to do things like turn the boot inside out to get them to their final form, then assess stress on the boot seam.
Truby used suede, sheep fur, charred wood (for a boot heel) and ram horns (for a purse handle). Birchwood bark is used for the upper portion of his unique design. The bark needs to be soaked in water, then peeled back and stitched down.
“I like to think of what I do as the middle point between architecture and fine arts, really expressing creativity without too many limits,” Truby said.
The collection he previewed for the fashion show was inspired by a rafting and camping trip to the Grand Canyon last summer. He observed forms of decay, water erosion patterns, copper patinas, birds, coyotes and goats.
But he also talked of living abroad, where he learned that Asian cultures center on high-quality material and silhouettes rather than color. Germans wear slimmer cut clothing. “I’ve gathered ideas from all over.”
His mother Kathleen Truby, the daughter of a welder who founded a building products company, told me she never could have expected this passion for fashion design. “Bryce had no experience with sewing or design. He went from not knowing how to do anything to doing everything.”
The combination of hard-working, blue collar roots meshes well with the arts and writing background of family members, she said. “They threw him into fashion and he took off. He really wants to do shoe design.”
When a dream becomes a mission
Santino Giglio, 22, of Royal Oak, Michigan, is also an accessories designer at CCS. His collection is inspired by time spent in Italy. “I tried to use minimal machine stitching and wanted a handmade, luxury feel. I’m looking to take my bags into production on my own in the near future.”
Spending 8 to 12 hours a day with designers is like iron sharpening iron, Santino Giglio said. “We always bounce ideas off of each other. I have a dream but I hate to call it that — it makes it feel unachievable. However, my goal is to own my own handbag company.”
Bryce Truby’s father told me he went to Streetside Seafood in Birmingham where Santino Giglio works and “the whole restaurant is rooting for Santino.”
Commitment, obsession
What’s strange and interesting for a parent is realizing that exposing children to different cultures really does have deep impact, said Mark Truby, chief communications officer at Ford Motor Co.
“There were times when I thought that I wasn’t sure if the kids were soaking up everything that was going on in their lives,” said Truby, the father of three boys. “We went to Rome, Paris, Budapest, Prague, Cambodia, Athens … I’m so glad Bryce got into CCS and into that community of diverse people. It’s like what you read about Juilliard, the commitment. I love that he found something he’s obsessed with.”
Global talent, Detroit energy
Coming to Detroit is part of a comprehensive talent strategy for Louis Vuitton.
“I try to recruit as many nationalities as I can. I think the mix of different people coming from all over the world is important for a brand. Designers from Europe, Asia, the United States and South America are important to put together,” said de la Valette.
“The way they find inspiration is different,” she said. “The Japanese, when they design, are really focused on looking at themselves. All their thoughts are interior — about their youth, their childhood, all inside their mind. The European is about handcrafted materials and the craftsmanship. The American is an analysis of what’s going on around you. They analyze the needs, what people are consuming and then they start drawing, very merchandise driven. It’s very analytical.”
‘We co-exist gracefully’
Ralph Gilles, chief design officer at Stellantis, earned a bachelor of fine arts in transportation design from CCS and now sits on the board of trustees. Gilles said recruiting Aki Choklat from London — and the enthusiasm he brings — was critical to establishing a powerhouse fashion program in Detroit.
“Detroit has so much natural creativity and an endless amount of resourcefulness,” Gilles said. “The school was always known for automotive. But people like myself love fashion. Creativity comes in all shapes and forms and sizes. I get inspiration from architecture, product design, fashion, even science fiction movies. We co-exist gracefully. That’s the culture of creativity. And the fashion design in that show? It looks like something you’d see in Paris. These are students up there with New York level, Milan level.”
More:
Paper dress fashion in the D causes a stir
Cowboy hat and diamonds offer peek at VIP party scene in Detroit
I just discovered the ‘underground auto show party’
To those who may be inspired: Buy Me a Coffee
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