Detroit decked out: robot clothes and Motor City Denim

We always learn things listening to All Things Considered — all the more fascinating when a story comes from our own backyard. Did you know robots wear clothing to keep out grime and dust in auto factories? Neither did we. But that’s Mark D’Andreta’s trade: he owns TD Industrial Clothing, which did 95% of its business outfitting the robots used to put cars together. Until the auto business crashed.

As sales plummeted, D’Andreta took stock of his assets: a skilled labor force that could make patterns and prototypes quickly, and a love for fashion inspired by his father, a tailor. And thanks to a new partnership with designer and Project Runway alum Joe Faris, the factory will soon be producing a premium line of denim that’s Detroit-dreamt, designed and distributed.

Excerpt:

“The jean captures what Detroit is,” Faris says. “We can dress up
the jean all we want, but there is a production element of it. And
that’s where I felt like we could do this here.”

At
the factory where TD Industrial Coverings makes robot clothes, workers
are making stiff, dark blue dress jeans inspired by the Motor City.
The jeans will go on sale in March for $150 a pair at retail stores.

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