It happened with that little thing called Detroit Techno. So, what if Detroit also started to become world-renowned for its hip threads?
Detroit has its fair share of clothing labels that are gaining renown in the fashion community at large. And spurred on by such homegrown fashion champions as the Pure Detroit Design Lab and even getting some national love (again) on the likes of Eminem in his iPod commercial, it’s just a matter of time before the shout-outs to the Detroit design community begin to rival those of its electronic music predecessors.
Right now, the city is brimming with still unknown fashion talent that’s worthy of being discovered. Mostly self-taught art school kids who are trading in their canvases for sewing machines, these young and innovative designers are working collectively to grow the fashion community in the city, get their own names out there, and well, try to make a little cash whilst doing what they love.
Genre-defying threads
Take Superior Belly and its Renaissance man leader, Zack Ostrowski, for example. One of his former art-school peers describes Ostrowski as “a designer that stands out because his work is so organic and pure.” He launched Superior Belly as a t-shirt line back in high school from his St. Clair basement in 1999. Six years later, Superior Belly has grown into a clothing line based on humor, irony and strong visual statements, thanks to his background in fine art.
Superior Belly’s images are one-of-a-kind works of art based in a collage approach to fashion. On a signature Superior Belly shirt, you might find a mix of vintage with t-shirt with graphic design, which makes his clothing a bit genre-defying, yet wearable and affordable. It’s unique clothing that will not be mistaken for having been purchased at your local Target.
When Ostrowski talks about his fellow fashionistas, he sounds eerily like local musicians musing about the Detroit scene. “Well, it’s a strong community with good people who are extremely supportive of each other,” he says. Basic as it sounds, that might be why fashion becomes the new Detroit export.
So cool it hurts
Sarah Lurtz is a champion of Ostrowski, as well as the entire fashion community, and proof that music and fashion aren't such strange bedfellows. Fresh from a stint as merchandiser and stylist for Detroit electro-sweeties Adult, the Wounds of Sarah designer helped spread the world of Detroit’s fashion prowess by selling “Wound” ties to Adult fans on the band’s cross-country tour. Along with design partner Sarah Lapinski, Wounds is primarily a men’s line that’s a mixture of tailored pieces, street style and silk screening. Whether the pieces are vintage or original they “Wound it up” with their signature style, whether it be the ties for Adult or even high-top camouflage sneakers.
Uncommonly good
Yet another fresh face of Detroit fashion, and oft-times a collaborator of Ostrowski and the Sarahs, is Andrew DeGuilio and his label, Secret Pizza Party. Another art school kid drawn to the fashion world, DeGuilio was an illustrator running a Detroit art and design studio in the city before he launched a series of five t-shirts with faces on them, aptly named, “Five Faces.” That, according to DeGuilio, “is actually as deep as the concept gets.” The inspiration for doing a series of cartoon faces is, he says, “equal parts ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’ and Keith Haring.”
“As a clothing label, Secret Pizza Party's focus is on producing limited editions of t-shirts that fit into a space somewhere between smart and silly,” he says. “We want people to know they are wearing something that is uncommon; we want them to feel really good leaving their home wearing a Secret shirt. In terms of our role in the fashion world, we have no plans to make anything besides t-shirts. A t-shirt and blue jeans is the paragon of fashion; it’s timeless.”
DeGuilio says local artists and designers need to think about the relevance of their work on a national level, which is why DeGulio concentrates on the “Secret Store” on the Pizza Party Web site. Detroit, he says, “is still way too small for a label to expect to be exclusively local and be successful, and it would be creative and financial suicide to ignore all of the great things going on in other areas.”
Detroit’s market may be small, but there is room to grow. DeGuilio’s advice to local talent with the hope of having their own label some day is: “Do it now.”
No doubt it’s a sentiment shared also by Ostrowski and the Sarahs. These folks represent just a few names behind local fashion, but they’re also representative of what creating a good sense of community can do for a cause, a product and even just a cool t-shirt design.
So really, the jig is pretty much up. We all know we’ve got a lot here in the D — cars, music and now a whole lotta innovative fashion that is looking not only to dress up Detroiters, but hopefully to get a little love from outside the city’s borders.
Secret Pizza Party Shirts
Wounds of Sarah Collection at Pure Detroit Design Lab
Zack Ostrowski of Superior Belly
A Zack Ostrowski Custom Shirt
Sarah Lapinski and Sarah Lurtz of Wounds of Sarah
Andrew DeGuilio of Secret Pizza Party
All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger
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