By Sherrilynn Colley-Vegh
This month Beautiful Machine Magazine headed to New York Fashion Week to cover Detroit/Michigan Fashion Designers debut in the Big Apple. This was made possible thanks to the vision of Loren Hicks, award-winning Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Michigan Fashion Week. Hicks (@thelorendhicks) a clothing designer and the producer of the New York show was also one of the designers who participated in this fashion first, along with Drusilla Arhin (@drusillaarhin); Des & Company (@desandcompany); God Said Couture (@godsaidcouture); Zapenda (@zapendashop); and Emileigh Ruth (@emileiruth).
The goal of this show was to increase visibility, positioning and elevation of our local designers and offer them a unique opportunity to participate and gain exposure in one of the greatest fashion centers on a world stage. Hicks wanted to give Michigan designers an opportunity to network and connect with media, buyers, models, creatives, stylists, fashion influencers and the insiders of the global fashion industry.
The show consisted of emerging creators, as well as those who have developed a solid collection and brand who are ready to take their designs to the next level and “Bring it” they did. The atmosphere was electric at the sold-out venue located at 155 Suffolk New York, not far from Central Park.
The Panel
The event opened with a panel of experts hosted by Loren Hicks @LorenDHicks (Founder and CEO of Michigan Fashion Week) and featuring Tina Vartanian @tina_vartan (Founder of Issued Magazine and Creatively Issued Agency), Kaiya Williams @kaiyafinesse (CEO and Executive Director of KAW Management Group, Pia Lindsay @pialindsaystudio (Founder & Creative Director – Pia Lindsay Studio) and AK Brown @Akbrownstl (EIC & Fashion Director Advisor.Magazine A.Studio.) See below for the panels fashion career advice.
The Show
Des & Co. opened the show with their male and female models wearing stunning white tops with patterns featuring rope detailing paired with dark skirts and the most incredible sand- colored pleated pants that I am still obsessing over.
God Said Couture was next showing fabulous streetwear with religious themed logos such as “Famous in Heaven”, “Expensive - Bought with a Price” and “Sinking, Swimming, Walking on Water.”
LoJo Fashion + Design by Loren Hicks was next, wowing the audience with rich satin men’s shirts and exquisite sequin dresses, both cocktail length and gowns in gorgeous shades of bright blue, royal purple, gold, bronze silver and black.
Emileigh Ruth’s theatrical-medieval inspired fashions floated down the runway in black and rich red velvets with bodice detail and white 16th Century Elizabethan ruff style collars.
Drusilla Arhin was the pop of color for the show featuring beach/streetwear of flowered bikini tops and shorts/skirts in an array of bright pink, orange, blue and yellow.
Zapenda closed out the show with designers Dextina Booker and Stella Safari who use fabrics and tailors from the Congo in their creations. They featured dresses/jackets, pant suits and tie up robe gowns in interesting colors and patterns of green/purple leaves, red and yellow stars and orange and yellow waves.
The After Party
After the show Michigan Fashion Week hosted an afterparty “Detroit takes New York” at La Caverna where the celebration and dancing continued. Hicks shared with Beautiful Machine that she felt blessed and super excited to be bring this opportunity to Michigan Designers.
“The best part of the show is always the anticipation right before the show and then to see all the excitement of the models and designers after the show,” shared Hicks
What’s Next
You can experience the talent of our local designers October 16th (Streetwear) at The Edit Detroit & October 17th Interactive Fashion Experience at the Harmonie Club Detroit.
Be sure to follow Michigan Fashion Week socials for details.
Congratulations Loren Hicks and Michigan Fashion Week from Beautiful Machine Magazine, always supporting Beautiful People doing Beautiful Things!
Fashion Experts Panel
For those looking to make their mark in the Fashion World here is some of the advice that we gleaned from the opening panel of experts.
- Don’t fear rejections – No’s leads you to your Yes!
- You need to build a solid brand identity and you need to cultivate your brand
- Talk to your audience, pay attention to conversations and partner with others
- Get yourself in front of customers - runways, trunk shows, pop ups build visibility
- To succeed talent only gets you so far you also need determination to push forward and define your big picture through strategy, consistency, and clarity, on where you are going. To make intentional impact, you also need incredible drive to keep going.
- You must be creative and have vision but also be logical, decisive and be able to handle the business side of the industry like contracts, budgeting, costing, break point, margins!
