Detroit Fashion Designers Collaborate; This is Fashion in Detroit
Many of you may remember the very first Fashion in Detroit collaboration a few years back. The first show was held in 2009 at the Detroit Zoo, do you remember? The first FID show was the best fashion event Michigan had ever seen. It was like they took all of us out of our bubbles and placed us in New York, during fashion week. But, for a moment, this was better. Why? Because the tent was filled with Detroit talent. Talent eager to collaborate and network, celebrate fashion and support one another. Make up artists, hair stylists, designers, bloggers, photographers and models all formed as one professional group without the competitive vibe, as it should be.
Designers were happy to bring their designs to a Detroit runway. This was a time where you could count the Michigan Fashion Bloggers on one hand (today we have over 200 fashion bloggers in Michigan) and the fashion community relationships were blooming. Most importantly during this time, we had great fashion on the runway from real life successful designers that also loved Detroit as much as the rest of us did. The event again, was called Fashion in Detroit. The event featured designs from Joe Faris, Betsey Johnson, Peter Soronen, Kevin Christiana and many more.
Fashion in Detroit included an impressive list of professionals that came together to bring a one-of-a-kind event to our community. The executive board consisted of names we’re certain you’ll recognize including Joe Faris of Project Runway, Karen Buscemi of Detroit Sewn and Detroit Garment Group, Rino Marra of Figo Salon, K’Kao Hardin, Leslie Pilling of Mm-O-Dd and Presence II Productions and professional photographer Lians Jadan who is also involved with Detroit Garment Group.
After a few years, the executive board changed and collaborations were happening everywhere. New fashion businesses were formed, new fashion related non-profit organizations were born and fashion professionals began to collaborate and host their own local fashion shows and events within Detroit and it’s surrounding communities. This was the time, in my eyes, Fashion in Detroit was truly born. The 2009 FID collaboration was just the beginning.
Today, the Detroit fashion community is strong with more and more collaborations happening every single day. Who knows when we will see the next Fashion in Detroit show but today, we see “Fashion in Detroit” happening right before our very eyes and the concept is only going to get stronger.
Last week, a fun collaboration between three fashion designers began and an entirely new campaign of style, passion and great design was formed. Joe Faris, mentioned above, teamed up with Derby hat designer Rachelle Willnus and automotive inspired fashion and jewelry designer Janna Coumoundouros. Their first photoshoot was held at the Valentine Distillery in Ferndale and within minutes, a new life of Leather Meets Derby was born.
Joe Faris brought a new line of sweet and sexy leather jackets and jeans for both men and women, Janna Coumoundouros brought several automotive inspired jewelry pieces made with both metal and seatbelt material and Rachelle Willnus brought a new line of leather inspired Derby headbands and hat designs incorporating metal and leather with her traditional use of English sinamay.
“My hope is that by combining the talents of myself, Janna, and Joe that we put Detroit on the map as a ‘go-to’ market for cool streetwear. We recycle with use of antique metal and we use organics like leather and sinamay, which is made from an abaca plant. Detroit is cutting edge in fashion. We’re not afraid to take fashion to new levels in terms of design and creativity. We take clean lines and push the envelope of avante-garde style. There are many many many designers in Detroit who are doing what we are doing. This city has talent above and beyond! We are just one piece of that.” – Rachelle Willnus.
Here at Detroit Fashion News, we share collaborations and fashion news as much as we can. Collaborations like this get us excited and eager to share more. The Detroit Fashion community is powerful and designers like Rachelle, Janna and Joe are here to make sure you feel the quake.
Do you have a fashion collaboration you would like shared here on Detroit Fashion News? Send your information to shannon@lazovski.com. The DFN team would love to help share your good news. Be sure to also follow us for more info on collaborations, shows and events on Facebook. We can also be found on Twitter & Instagram @DetFashionNews.