Industry Spotlight: College Graduate Opens Online Thrift Store

21-year-old Tori Ewald turned her life-long love of fashion into an online vintage shop, Restore Thrift. She makes the daunting task of shopping in a thrift store easy with her curated finds. Read more about Tori and Restore Thrift in our interview with her below!

Photo c/o Tori Ewald

DGG: Tell us about yourself, Tori.
Tori Ewald: I am 21 years old and just graduated from Hope College. My home is in Metro-Detroit, but I am currently living over on the west side of the state (Lake Michigan has stolen my heart). All my life I have always loved clothing as a form of personal expression and creativity. As a child I was more obsessed with dressing dolls than actually playing with them. This love for style has stuck with me, and I am now seeking career paths that marry my passion for clothing with my heart for people. I desire to see radical change and transparency in the fashion industry through the slow fashion movement. I truly believe that the creators of our clothes should be recognized for their craft not exploited as a result of our overconsumption. When I am not sourcing and photographing clothes for Restore I am either throwing bowls in the ceramics studio, indulging in salted caramel ice cream, planning adventures with my best friends, studying all things social media, eating tacos, catching a sunset on the lake, or cooking up the world’s best omelet (well, at least in my opinion).

DGG: Tell us about Restore.
TE: Restore Thrift is an online shop that sells curated thrifted clothing. Resale is a great alternative to purchasing brand new clothing, but often the task of sifting through a sea of color-coded racks is overwhelming. Luckily, finding hidden gems in crowded second-hand stores is one of my favorite things to do. Each piece that is sold on Restore Thrift is hand-picked with a specific vibe in mind.

DGG: What inspired you to start your store?
TE: Throughout my life I was constantly purchasing trendy clothing from big brands to add to an already packed closet, but recently I discovered the many horrible realities and injustices resulting from the fast fashion industry today. How could this seemingly glamorous industry have such disregard for human lives and the environment? We already have plenty of sweet clothes on this earth so why not recycle what has already been created! As I searched for alternatives to purchasing cheaply made clothing, I realized that I really could not find any brick-and-mortar resale stores that were doing it right-- most were either over-priced or just plain out of style. Buying second-hand can be just as cool as buying brand new, but jam-packed racks of t-shirts and grandma sweaters at a thrift store can be daunting to some people. I have always had a knack for searching for great finds in second-hand stores for myself, so I figured I would open my own online version of a resale shop!

DGG: Where do you see your store in the next 5 years?
TE: I am really excited because this summer I will be participating in a few vintage markets around Michigan. I hope to have more opportunities to do local pop-up shops. Other than that I hope that I can continue to grow my shop and expand my customer reach beyond my local area.

Photo c/o Tori Ewald

DGG: What's your favorite vintage piece you've found?
TE: My personal favorite find would have to be a pair of super vintage knee high Dr. Marten leather boots (practically a steal at $10!). As for an item for Restore, recently I found a vintage Dior cashmere sweater that has such elegant beaded details. It is absolutely beautiful.

DGG: Describe your style.
TE: I always find it hard to pinpoint my style specifically because it is always evolving. Recently though my wardrobe has slowly become more refined as I seek to purchase quality pieces that are timeless and will last a long time instead of overly trendy pieces. I am obsessed with Alexa Chung and find myself trying to emulate her effortlessly cool looks. My current uniform would be vintage cropped high rise Levi’s, a stone-washed black cropped t-shirt, old-school high top vans, and big silver hoop earrings. My closet is mostly filled with solid black, denim, or stripes and I absolutely love a good worn in jean jacket.

DGG: How do you take your coffee?
TE: Just a dash of cream, but I recently tried a lavender latte and let me tell you I’m obsessed!

DGG: Dior or Chanel? 
TE: Dior

DGG: The Real Real or What Goes Around Comes Around?
TE: The Real Real is so cool but ThredUp is more in my price range. As for a brick-and-mortar resale shop I am obsessed with Buffalo Exchange.

Photo c/o Tori Ewald

By Alex Donlin

Industry Spotlight: How College Twins Started Their Own Boutique

Abby and Gabby Burbary are only 20-years-old but have managed to start their own online boutique, Bella Gemelli, while balancing school, extracurricular activities and their social lives. Read about how they got their start, what their goals are for the future and more!

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli

DGG: Tell us about yourselves, Abby and Gabby.

Bella Gemelli: To start off, we are both identical twins and our little sisters are identical twins as well! Family is a huge part of our lives, and we truly believe we wouldn't be who we are without our family’s love and support. We’re extremely close, and we feel that we are stronger together than we are separated—after all, our names are only one letter apart! We are currently students at Michigan State University studying broadcast journalism, and minoring in entrepreneurship and innovation. At MSU, we have tried to be involved in everything campus has to offer! We both are extreme fashion enthusiasts, who love to create and inspire. Our absolute dream is to pursue our passion, help others, and make a positive impact in this world.

DGG: Tell us about Bella Gemelli.

BG: Bella Gemelli is an online clothing brand that we created to represent our love for fashion, and also help a cause that is very close to our hearts. Bella Gemelli strives to carry unique brands and fun Bella Gemelli spirit wear. We want every customer who shops at Bella Gemelli to find something they love, which is why we focus on carrying a range of styles in our store. Every year 5% of our net proceeds are donated to Graham’s Foundation in order to support premature twins, multiples and single births.

DGG: What inspired you guys to create Bella Gemelli?

BG: We started Bella Gemelli because we wanted to turn our passion into our everyday job, while bringing our ideas to life. Both of our parents are entrepreneurs and own their own businesses, so we decided that following in their footsteps was something very important to us.

DGG: What has been the biggest challenge starting your own boutique? 

BG: The biggest challenges we’ve faced in our journey so far are trying to be full-time students and business owners, while also being involved in multiple organizations on campus. Sometimes the many responsibilities become difficult to juggle, but we know it will be worth it in the end.

DGG: Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

BG: In 5 years, we hope that we are able to put a smile on even more faces and continue providing a new way to look at fashion. We are also in the process of creating our own designs, which will be featured on Bella Gemelli and include a unique twist. Our goal is to have these complete within the next year, and we believe the designs will help enhance the Bella Gemelli brand even more. Additionally, we would love to have our first store front for Bella Gemelli.

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli

DGG: Describe your style.

BG: Abby’s style tends to leans more toward edgy finishes and neutral-toned colors, where Gabby’s style gravitates toward lace and ruffle finishes, with lighter-toned colors. Although opposite at times, we both wear a large mix of the two styles.

DGG: How do you take your coffee? 

BG: We both actually do not love the taste of plain coffee, although it smells so good! At Starbucks we always order an iced caramel macchiato with only a single shot of espresso and extra caramel drizzle. Basically, it is all sugar with a side of coffee.

DGG: Fall or summer fashion?

BG: We love both seasons for different reasons. For fall fashion, we love the look of cozy sweaters and jackets together. In the summer, we enjoy the bright coloring of swimsuits, tops, dresses, and shorts.  

DGG: Dressing up or dressing more casual? 

BG: We always try to stick with a balanced mix of both dressing up, and dressing casual. We love fashion and creating outfits; however, we rock the baggy sweatshirt and messy bun look at least four days a week when attending classes. We always say that one can love fashion without having to dress up every single day— that’s the beauty of it!

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli

Industry Spotlight: An App for Fashion Advice

Have you ever put on an outfit and wanted to get some one's opinion, but you don't have anyone around to do that? Well, your problem has been solved. Spree, an app where users can give and receive fashion advice as soon as the photo is posted, has given the people an answer to "how does my outfit look?". Learn about the creators of the app, who grew up right here in the mitten.

Image from Spree

DGG: Tell us about yourselves.

Mihai: There are 3 co-founders: Irene, Ryan, and I. We all grew up in the metro-Detroit area, graduated from the University of Michigan, and moved to San Francisco around the same time. Ryan and I are both software engineers and we met during out first weeks at Google. Irene and I met all the way back in highschool, about 12 years ago.

Ryan and I have been doing the coding for Spree. Irene has been a key part of the interface design, has come up with lots of features, and was instrumental in coming up with the original idea. I met DeJanea when I was visiting friends back in Michigan. A mutual friend introduced us and I told her about Spree. She was really excited about it and we’ve been happy to have her input since then.

DeJanea: I met Mihai at a mutual friend's birthday party earlier this year. He introduced the two of us because he knew that I had just finished my internship with The Detroit Garment Group and was finishing up my fashion merchandising degree at Wayne State. Mihai admitted that while he and the other developers were creating a fashion app, they didn't know anything about the fashion industry so I was brought on to utilize my fashion industry expertise.

DGG: Tell us about Spree.

Irene: Spree is about bringing a community of fashion lovers together. You snap a selfie of your outfit, other people using the app can give you advice and help you pick out what to wear.

Mihai: Spree is for anyone that wants a second opinion when getting ready to go out or buying clothes.  Post a full-body photo and we’ll start giving you advice from other people in just 1 minute.  

We use emojis to capture the overall feeling of your outfit- the best outfits get a 🦄 and the worst get a 💩!  Of course you can get detailed comments, too, and we created an awesome feature called a Thumb: just swipe up or down anywhere on an outfit when giving advice and we’ll add a thumb up or down on that part of the outfit. It’s so much faster than typing “cute shirt”!

DGG: How long have you all been developing apps, and why did you want to develop an app for fashion?

Ryan: I've been making apps for about six years. We became interested in building Spree because we saw a need for a feedback-focused fashion experience for ourselves and our friends.

Mihai: I started working on apps when I was a software engineer at Google. I wanted to leave the big corporate life behind and build something people found useful. One day after work, Irene, Ryan, and I were hanging out in the kitchen talking about how now that we’ve finished college and have real jobs, we’re not broke, but I still didn’t know what to wear besides baggy t-shirts and jeans. That’s when Irene brought up the movie Clueless- Cher, the main character, had a computer that helped her pick out outfits in the morning. We realized that trying to do it like that would be really hard and, realistically, wouldn’t work well. To us, asking other people was the key, because giving quick and accurate opinions on something as subjective as clothes is where people blow computers out of the water!

DeJanea: I've never developed an app before and don't know a thing about coding. My tech background is just basically making Sailor Moon and anime websites on Geocities in the late 90's/early 2000's, but when Mihai told me about the app, I felt it was a genius idea that I needed to be a part of. With all the fashion geared apps out in the market right now, there was nothing like this one. I believe that this app could revolutionize the fashion industry in some way.

Image from Spree

DGG: Why did you feel this kind of app was needed?

Irene: A lot of people get advice from their friends on what to wear out or buy, but what if your style differs from your friends, or you're just getting interested in finding your style. Who can you ask?

We all see so many pictures of clothes that are highly edited and specific for a certain body type everywhere, but we come in all shapes and sizes - something that looks great on the model in the ad might not look great in real life. We wanted to build a community of real people posting photos of themselves and can share tips or ideas with one another.

Mihai: I don’t like ads, not by a long shot. I understand they’re necessary for businesses, but in so many industries, including fashion, everywhere you look, all you see are ads. If they were realistic it’d be fine, but they’re not. There are teams of people involved in just taking a single photo for Instagram or a magazine: photographers, editors, make-up artists, stylists, models, designers.  Even if we buy the exact same outfit we see see on Instagram or in a magazine, what hope do we have of looking even half as good as the model did?

Of course we can’t blame whoever made the ad or whoever published it, they’re just trying to make money, but in pursuit of profit and sales, they forget about the people buying the clothes. We just want well-made clothes that fit and look great. That’s why I think Spree is important. It’s real people, not some unrealistic fantasy that you see in an ad.

DeJanea: Spree is perfect for those times when you're just not sure about what to wear that day. Or for people who need a little help with fashion in general. Everyone has these situations and needs a little advice to help them out.

Image from Spree

DGG: What do you have planned, long term for Spree? Anything you can share?

Ryan: One of the first things we noticed after launching Spree is that users love reviewing each other's posts. Many have rated hundreds, even thousands of outfits. We will eventually allow users to tag where they bought the outfit, so others can easily find outfits they like. We’re also working on a variety of features to allow designers, stylists, and bloggers to build up their name with Spree.

Irene: We're focusing on building a strong community and would love to see bloggers, designers, and trendsetters use this as a tool to connect with their fan base. We'd love to have this eventually be a tool that people can use to shop for clothes as well. As we were saying before, models and clothes in ads just aren't an accurate representation of reality. With this, you can see people with similar body types to you and you can shop for things similar to what they wear and get an actual idea of the quality of the clothes.

Mihai: There are a ton of features that have been swirling around in my head. Right now we’re focused on making sure we can make the core experience useful and easy to use. Down the road we’d love to let people tag clothes in their photos so others can see where they bought them. I think that’d be so useful: you’ll be able to go into a store and look up all the photos posted to Spree with clothes from that store.

DeJanea: I see so many great things coming out of Spree in the future. Like I said before, I truly believe that this app could revolutionize the fashion industry in new and exciting ways. My hope for the future is to somehow get designers, retailers and stylists integrated in the app.

DGG: If you could have anyone in the world use Spree, who would it be and why?

Ryan: This question is tough because Spree is designed for everyday people looking for unbiased opinions. 

Irene: Just normal people! We want to make feeling great about what you put on an attainable goal for everyone, not just celebrities or models with teams of stylists.

Mihai: I would love to have designers and fashion bloggers use it because that’s traditionally been more of a 1-way dialog. If we can foster a reddit-esque AMA (Ask Me Anything) where there can create a hashtag and tell their fans “tomorrow from 1-2pm, I’ll be giving advice to anyone that posts on Spree under #whatever”.  I think that would be so cool, to start a conversation between the designers and bloggers of the world, and everyone else.

DeJanea: While I agree with everyone else and say that Spree is for everyone... I have to admit, however, that I would DIE if Rachel Zoe used our app! She is my idol and whose career I aspire to emulate.

Image from Spree

DGG: Describe your style.

Irene: Probably like a baby alien? I like pieces with interesting colors or shapes that stick out and make people whisper about it when I walk by.

Mihai: Being techy means I’ve always loved hoodies and t-shirts, but nowadays I pay a lot more attention to fit; gone are the days of unfitted t-shirts and baggy jeans. I’m still not quite a fashion guru, so I try to stick the simple things: a solid colored tailored dress shirt and well-fitted jeans with some fashion sneakers are tried and true favorites of mine.

DeJanea: I always feel my style is trendy with an edge. I love color blocking and mixing patterns. I'm also very girly... pink is my favorite color!

DGG: How do you take your coffee?

Irene: I'm more of a tea fan. Straight tea, no nonsense.

Mihai: I always have a long list of things to do for the day, that always keeps me going, so no coffee for me! If I am feeling really tired though, I’ll reach for a caffeine pill--I’m all about efficiency. 

DeJanea: I'm not a coffee person. I love green tea!

DGG: Polypore or Mallzee?

Irene: Neither! Get spree :p

Mihai: Neither. I’m a guy that’s 5’ 6” and 125 lbs., so finding things that fit me can be tough. I like to go straight to Amazon, filter for things that are Prime and available in my size, then go from there. Their selection is huge and prices are reasonable. I load up my cart with more than I’ll ever need and return anything I don’t like!

DeJanea: I think Polyvore is a lot of fun and very useful for making inspiration boards.

DGG: Classic or minimalist?

Irene: Minimalist.

Mihai: I love tailored suits, so definitely classic!

DeJanea: Classic

Industry Spotlight: International Design Consultant Locates in Michigan

DGG: Tell us about yourself, Anjali.

Anjali Purohit: Born and raised in India, I have pursued my higher studies in Accessory Design from National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, India and Masters in Showroom Design from Nuova Academia Di Belle Arti, Milan, Italy. Michigan is home to me now.

With over 10 years in the fashion design industry, I have worked with international design teams, factories, suppliers, and varied artisan clusters. Multicultural exposure and design education has played a huge role in shaping myself as a creative professional. 

DGG: Tell us about being a design consultant. How can local designers benefit from your services?

AP: As an entrepreneur and designer myself, I understand that budget, cost, production constraints go hand in hand with creative possibilities. I contribute to various facets of design, product and business development for other designers/labels/businesses. As each brand or business has specific needs, I choose to work in a customized format.

Sourcing fabrics, developing customized textiles (artisanal), prints & embellishments, production co-ordination, product development, sourcing/buying/planning merchandise, art direction, branding & market research, planning of seasonal collections, trend research, developing educational design modules are some of the services. I provide to start up / established designers & businesses in product categories like clothing, fashion & home accessories (leather, jewelry, textiles).

The format of payment can be on project basis for example. It does vary as per the requirement of the client & scope of work involved. One can reach me at onewindow@gmail.com for any inquiries. 

DGG: Do you prefer designing/buying for home or clothing?

AP: Currently, I have a stronger affinity for designing accessories (home + fashion).

DGG: For those getting into design or the fashion industry, what would be your biggest piece of advice?

AP: Design / Fashion education that combines industry exposure is a great value add to start of. 

DGG: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

AP: Continue learning & contribute by working with design teams, artists & artisans globally.

DGG: What are you most inspired by? 

AP: Visual Culture. 

DGG: Describe your style. 

AP: Comfort & color lead the way for me personally. 

DGG: West Elm or Crate & Barrel? 

AP: West Elm. 

DGG: Blazers or sweaters? 

AP: Blazers. 

Industry Spotlight: Company Aims to Make Fashion More Accessible to the Industry

Chelsea VonMach and Aferdita Rakipi - do these names ring a bell? Well, the should because they were both speakers are DGG's very first FashionSpeak. The funny thing about that is they didn't know of each other until the day of the event. Since then, they have partnered together to take Chelsea's brain-child MODASearch™ to the next level. Read about the start up below, and the importance of networking.

Image Courtesy of MODASearch™

DGG: Tell us about yourselves, Aferdita and Chelsea.

Aferdita Rakipi: I had always had a love affair with travel, different languages and cultures thus I majored in History and minored in French. Naturally, that landed me in the fashion world. NOT.  After a world wind of roads less traveled from my time in politics to technologies, I then of course landed in fashion. My experiences from living aboard and working in different fields gave me a unique perspective from fashion to everyday life. A coffee break in NYC is not the same as a coffee break in Milan, and there is beauty in both.

Chelsea VonMach: Well, I grew up in the greater Detroit area where, unfortunately at the time, there weren’t too many options like ‘The Detroit Garment Group’ to help cultivate and nurture my magpie nature for anything sparkly, texturized, and unique. I’ve always been fascinated and inspired by the world of fashion and after attending Michigan State University for a year, I realized that the only way I was going to be able to discover for myself if I had what it took to create a career for myself in the industry was for me to jump outside my comfort zone and explore what that meant. This lead me begging my parents to give me their blessing to move out to California and attend The Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising. It wasn’t an easy battle, but after some convincing, I found myself on the west coast actually pursuing my dream! I interned like crazy, and upon graduation from FIDM, accepted my first real paying job as a stylist assistant on the remake of the television show ‘Melrose Place.’ For the past 7 years, I’ve worked on several network television shows and feature films and have assisted for some of the top stylists and costumes designers in the industry including celebrity stylist, Rachel Zoe and Mad Men Costume Designer, Janie Bryant. It’s been an amazing journey and I’ve learned a lot, and am excited to finally be booking head stylist jobs on my own to take my career to the next level. However, I never just wanted to be a fashion stylist/costume designer, I wanted to do something innovative in my industry, which I’ve been able to do with  MODASearch™.

DGG: Tell us about MODASearch™.

AR: This was Chelsea’s and her business partner’s brainchild. We were both speakers at the first FashionSpeak and we just got to talking about our experiences. I mean a real honest conversation not how fabulous it all is, but the real work that goes into it everyday.

CVM: The idea for MODASearch actually came about at my family friend, Laura’s (my now business partner) dinner table after expressing to her my frustration regarding how much of my work day was being wasted trying to find clothes and accessories for my jobs. I expressed to her how I wished there was a simple directory or a kind of ‘Yellow Pages’ of information where I could access information quickly at my fingertips and know where to go to find what I needed without having to drive all over Los Angeles, which if you’ve ever been in LA traffic during most parts of the day, can be a nightmare. Laura then suggested that we could come up with a database containing all the info and create a website where stylists like me could avoid the stress and headaches of research and racing the clock for last minute photo shoots. We immediately started working on it and shortly thereafter, as Aferdita mentioned, I had the privilege of speaking at the first FashionSpeak, where I met Aferdita and had some real talk about working in the industry. Laura and I were looking for a PR maven and someone who would really invest, believe, and evolve MODASearch™, and Aferdita had all of those qualities.

DGG: Is MODASearch™ only for people in California? Or can anyone anywhere use it?

AR:  The beauty of MODASearch™ is that it is a universal tool. Everyone can use it. The features and benefits of becoming a MODASearch™ user is that each member enriches the site. All can use the Modatags, Modagalleries and request samples. In our current launch, major cities have access to other services which we will continually incorporate throughout all areas of MODASearch™ .

CVM: Aferdita said it perfectly. ☺

Image Courtesy of MODASearch™

DGG: I know this is early, but what are your plans for the future? Where do you see MODASearch™ in 5-10 years?

CVM: Ahhh MODASearch™ has so much growing to do! We are starting it off super simple and basic, because it’s a tool, but I see it evolving into an online magazine for people behind the scenes, a shopping guide for major cities and the go-to database in the fashion industry.

AR: We see MODASearch™ very much as an essential component to the fashion industry.

DGG: So far, what has been your most frequently asked question, and how do you answer it?

AR: Many ask “How did you come up with Modasearch™?” When Chelsea introduced me to the site, I was excited to learn of its creation since both she and I had similar experiences in the fashion world but on opposite ends of the industry spectrum. I was thrown into the business and a tool like MODASearch™ would have made my life vastly simpler. After working in the industry for over ten years, I feel MODASearch™ is still needed in organizing calendars, looks, samples, and essential in training new hires and interns. It is especially vital when new people are joining the team - half the work and history is one location.

CVM: Mostly it’s, ‘Where did the idea for MODASearch™ come from?’ and ‘How did you make it happen?’ The simple answer is that it was literally out of pure necessity. I felt like I was wasting so much time researching and running around trying to identify the names and contact info of showrooms and costume houses to find the best garments and accessories for the jobs I was working. I knew there had to be a better and quicker way to access the numerous resources needed for stylists like myself to efficiently find what they need for shoots. Thankfully, Laura was able to take all this information I had collected over the years and effectively organize it into one user-friendly database, which we today proudly call ‘MODASearch™.’ During its creation and development, I’ve been effectively able to beta test it for all my jobs and give Laura the feedback necessary to refine the site to not only meet our expectations as to its functionality, but also for our desire to have it evolve into a  showcase for stylists to present the newest and hottest trends in the industry.

DGG: What are three pieces advice you would give to budding fashion entrepreneurs?

AR: As much as we are all artistic in some way, this is still a business. It takes hard work, commitment and time. More importantly, surround yourself with people and be in work environments that enrich you and not take away from your energy. Mind you, we will all have those not-so-great days, but my philosophy is to be in an environment where I am not stifled but always learning. My team was key, be it working late on a project or knowing that it was a NYC egg-and-cheese kind of morning.

CVM: It’s definitely hard work, commitment, and time, but my best advice

to any budding entrepreneur would be to simply follow your heart. Take on new 

opportunities, fall down, make mistakes, and enjoy the journey. I could easily go on 

and on about my story and how I got to where I am, but it’s mostly about taking 

chances, risks, and putting one foot in front of the other to CREATE your own path 

to accessing your dreams.

Image Courtesy of MODASearch™

DGG: How important is networking in fashion? And what are good tips for people who may not be so confident to go out and network on their own?

AR:  Networking is very important especially for those behind the scenes. It takes a village to make things run and never ever neglect the receptionists, assistants or interns. These are your gatekeepers.  Never worry about not feeling 100% confident, we have all been there. Today, we are equipped with more information via social media. If all else fails, just ask someone about their latest instagram post that will get them talking (@modasearch). 

CVM: It is so so so so important to network in this industry. I am one of the shyest people and being in this industry has pushed me out of my comfort zone to really reach out and create relationships with my peers. I love this quote on confidence by Into the Gloss creator Emily Weiss on confidence, “Confidence is overrated—it can be faked, whereas freedom is fearlessness. Freedom is being more or less okay with wherever you’re at, at any given point in your life or your day or your hour, be it really sucky or really great or somewhere in between (and there are a lot of in betweens.)”.

DGG: If you could have any one person or company use MODASearch™, who would it be and why?

AR: This is a tough one as we see MODASearch™ used  across the board from Fashion schools to showrooms to on set tv/film styling teams. This is very much geared to professionals where we have vetted them with credentials and experience in our directory.

CVM: A fashion student, intern, assistant, Rachel Zoe, even Anna Wintour. I see a wide spectrum of users. We are making the fashion world accessible. 

Image Courtesy of MODASearch™

DGG: How do you take your coffee?

AR: Plenty of it. Hot with milk or cream no sugar.

CVM: Ice Coffee with cream. Vanilla Latte’s with almond milk. Vanilla Coffee with hemp milk. I always order something different, keeps things interesting.

DGG: Carine Roitfeld or Emmanuelle Alt?

AR: Why choose?

CVM: I love them both… Can’t choose.

DGG: Vogue or Harper's Bazaar?

AR: We of course welcome both.

CVM: Can I choose Vogue Nippon, instead?

Industry Spotlight: Local Entrepreneur is on a Mission to Clothe the World

Farmington Hills native, Mallory Brown, has started a clothing line that she hopes will help clothe the world, and so far, she's on the right track. Taking monthly visits to countries you may not have even heard of, she uses her clothing line to help those who can't help themselves. She is a jet setter with a crazy schedule, but we were lucky enough to grab her attention for a short interview. Learn about World Clothes Line, and see how you can help with just a small purchase.

Image from Mallory Brown

DGG: Tell us about yourself, Mallory.

Mallory Brown: I’m a social entrepreneur, humanitarian activist, and adventure traveler. I’m 29 years old, and my closest friends call me Mal. I’m originally from Farmington Hills and currently live in Ferndale. My goal is to inspire everyday people to give back and think globally. I run my own philanthropic campaigns around the world to offer direct, creative, and meaningful ways to make a difference. 

DGG: Tell us about World Clothes Line.

MB: World Clothes Line is an apparel brand with a philanthropic mission - to clothe the world. We sell casual clothes, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweatpants, designed to reflect different countries and cultures of the world. I design all the merchandise, and sell it on WCL’s online retail store. Our ‘buy one, give one mission' matches every item sold with an equivalent item for someone in need. You buy. We give. Together, we clothe the world. 

DGG: What's one of the most rewarding part about World Clothes Line?

MB: My company is truly my passion. WCL was inspired by my personal travels and the desperate need of clothing I witnessed around the world. I wanted to harness the power of consumer purchases in order to give back to those who need it most. I put my heart into the brand and everything it represents. It’s amazing to see the incredible response from my customers and the true value my clothing brings to people in need. 

Image from Mallory Brown

DGG: Tell us one of your favorite or most inspiring stories that you have experienced.

MB: I give away every item of clothing personally. I travel (yep, I actually go!) to orphanages, villages, refugee camps, and homeless shelters around the world to distribute clothes. I’ve met thousands of people in need, and a few faces with always stay with me. A 13-year old boy named Yohannas in Ethiopia followed me around for 3 days. An elderly woman named Mama Maria in Kenya lived in a mud hut and was probably the poorest person I’ve ever met. I cried myself to sleep after meeting her. In Indonesia, I clothed an impoverished island and was known as the “tshirt girl”.  In Haiti, I saw boys wearing WCL clothes weeks after I had met them.  They loved their new clothes so much and wore them every day. All those moments are so powerful and push me to work harder, give more, and think bigger.

DGG: Where have you gotten to travel to do your work?

MB: World Clothes Line has delivered clothes in 17 countries around the world. From Peru to Cambodia to Haiti to Tanzania. Domestically, I work often in Detroit and have also given in rural Kentucky. My absolute favorite country is Ethiopia. People often ask if I will ever slow down, but the more I travel, the more places I want to give!

DGG: Tell us about your success in raising a lot of money so quickly. What's your secret?

MB: In 2015, I became the first ever ambassador for CrowdRise, the largest crowdfunding platform for good. I’m the director of the 24-Hour Impact Project, running flash fundraisers around the world.  So far, in 2015, I’ve run 5 campaigns in 6 countries and raised over $110,000 for causes that touch my heart. I emotionally connect my followers to the cause and show immediate results from their donation. I hope that donors feel as if they are on the ground with me. Emotion and immediacy = my secret formula.

Image from Mallory Brown

DGG: How can people help out, and follow along with your journey?

MB: Purchase an item from World Clothes Line’s online retail store. You’ll give an item to someone in need around the world: www.WorldClothesLine.com. For CrowdRise, watch my campaigns at www.crowdrise.com/impactproject, or follow me on social media @travelmal.

DGG: How do you take your coffee?

MB: I love flavored coffee black, or black coffee with flavored creamer.

DGG: Describe your style.

MB: Bohemian chic. I love earth tones and accessories (I always wear a million bracelets).  I’m a travel girl, and I dress in comfortable layers, so I’m always ready for an adventure.

DGG: Warby Parker or TOMS?  

MB: Both, but TOMS will always have my heart.

DGG: Crewneck sweatshirts or hooded sweatshirts?  

MB: Crew neck. Especially this one: http://www.worldclothesline.com/Shop/Product.aspx?CatalogItemID=1859.

Image from Mallory Brown