A Letter from DG3’s President: It’s Time To Change the World’s Perception of Detroit Fashion

I am often interviewed regarding various fashion topics that have Detroit relevance, and during those interviews I am typically asked, “How do you describe Detroit fashion?”

It’s not an easy answer. And it’s not because we are not a fashionable town. It’s because we don’t fit into any mold.

In New York, even the tourists have a handle on New York fashion: sleek, all-black, loads of fabulous flat boots. How about LA? Colorful, whimsical, sometimes risky, loads of fabulous of bare skin.

It’s not that easy for us. Here, I see everything from vintage princesses to Chanel royalty. And from one day to the next, they can transition from solid neutrals to patterns of primary colors, strictly depending on their moods. Maybe that’s it: we’re a moody town. After all, we all know if you don’t like the weather here, wait 15 minutes. Perhaps our constant change to adapt to our weather patterns fuels our constant need to play with our styles.

Media outlets have trouble defining Detroit style, too, but in a more challenging way. They don’t know how to categorize us, how to celebrate us, how to use us. And as a result, they sweep us under the rug and focus their sartorial attention on New York, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, even Dallas. Just not Detroit.

For years, I’ve flipped through national fashion magazines, looking for the tiniest mention of us. A great designer’s new blouse, a fabulous boutique that’s worth the airfare, a fashion photographer about to be gobbled up by Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. I flipped and flipped and flipped and flipped. The only magazine to recognize our existence in all these years is Allure. It’s not a lot of attention, but at least our cities are included for best blowout, best colorist, etc.

It’s only since summer that Detroit has started to pique the interest of national fashion editors. Ever since Vogue’s Anna Wintour stepped onto our soil for the Detroit Institute of the Arts' exhibition of the work of photographer Bruce Weber, and proclaimed in her June 2014 editor’s letter:

“…one destination we’ve included that may prove surprising is Detroit. With all the negative depictions of the city one reads nowadays, it might seem to be a place one would only want to escape from. That’s terribly sad. Given the role Detroit played in so many ways in defining America in the twentieth century, its iconic status should only be burnished. At Condé Nast, the company that publishes Vogue, there has been much discussion about what we can do to help. Then, quite by chance, I was having lunch with the photographer Bruce Weber. I had barely glanced at the menu before Bruce announced, simply, ‘I love Detroit.’ Which is why you will find his wonderful images of its inhabitants, proud and invincible, in ‘City Rhythm’, a curtain-raiser to an exhibition Bruce is having at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since we’re urging you to try something new, a trip to Detroit to see his pictures in person not only would count as that but might also give the city the boost it so badly needs.”

Since then, Glamour included Detroiters in their October issue’s “Wear It to Work”, and Elle did a full fashion feature in the city (although I was NOT a fan).  We are becoming trendy – and in the opposite of the ruin-porn way. And we have to capitalize on this opportunity.

We are a talented fashion community. Really talented. However, if you were to hashtag Detroit fashion, you would see a really wide variety of images. Including bad design. We wanted to ensure that the national media would have an easy way to see the best of the best of Detroit fashion. So we created an Instagram account called Detroit Fashion Scene. We quietly launched it last week and I’m using this post to officially announce it to everyone. Detroit Fashion Scene is a well-curated platform to showcase beautiful images and great moments for Detroit fashion designers, wardrobe stylists, photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists, models and retailers. Once we have a good number of images posted, I’ll be sharing our Instagram with all of my New York editor contacts. We want Detroit Fashion Scene to be the place national and international media go to see what’s going on with Detroit fashion.

One of our greatest challenges as a fashion community is how to unite us all. Sure, there are various types of memberships and other groups, but it’s always going to be a small sampling of what’s really here. This Instagram account is our solution to uniting our community and showcasing exactly why the national media should be paying attention to us.

If you would like to be included, please send info and images to detroitgarmentgroup@gmail.com. Please understand that by sending items to us, it does not guarantee inclusion. 

A Letter from DG3's President: Elle Magazine Phoned It in with Recent Detroit Fashion Shoot

The September issue of Elle magazine included a fashion shoot photographed around the city of Detroit, featuring model Carolyn Murphy (who also appeared in Shinola’s campaign and is now the company’s Women’s Design Director), under the guise of our shifting economic landscape, and our endeavor to make a comeback.  I say guise because, while the intro paragraph of the fashion editorial certainly made it sound like the Elle folks saw the incredible changes happening in the city, specifically in the downtown and Midtown areas, the photos tell a completely different story.

The 11 pages of photos had two obvious focuses: the dilapidated Michigan Central Station – the once glorious and now common ruin-porn image used in negative press about Detroit – which was shown not once, but twice, and tons and tons of graffiti. Does the graffiti make for interesting backgrounds? No doubt. If the location theme was cool graffiti, the bulk of the editorial would have been a success. But that wasn’t the theme.

The majority of the images, with the exception of the obvious Michigan Central Station, show absolutely no sense of place. We only know where they are when they bother to note it in the credits on the page. And within the graffiti-backdrop images, we see cracked cement, overgrown grass, stickered-over traffic signs, empty streets, rusted-out light posts and colorless skies. Save for the presence of young people clad in black riding by on Shinola bikes – a too-easy prop placement – the city looks empty. Dead.

As long as Elle was bringing its crew to the city, would it have been too difficult to put together an inventory list of the many exciting, vibrant backdrops that tell the positive story of Detroit’s comeback? (Once again, that WAS the theme.) The beauty of Belle Isle. The jaw-dropping magnificence of the Guardian Building. The installation of the M1 Rail. The hustle and bustle of Midtown. The glory of the DIA. The excitement of Comerica Park. The colorfulness (and yumminess) of Mexican Town. The hip, cool vibe of Corktown. I could go on and on and on.

Elle, you sold us short. Does Detroit still have issues? Yep. Tons. But we can’t discount what is happening. How it’s changing. Sure, it’s going to take time for more and more of the city to experience what is happening in downtown and the surrounding areas. But we’re making progress. And that’s what this fashion shoot was supposed to be about.