Page 3 - Wayne Dispatch Pages

Always in Style

Designer Wearhouse, the store generations have grown

up loving, celebrates 40 years of keeping fashion fresh

By Courtney Conover You have to apply, they have to ap-
At the age of 45, my memory isn’t prove you, and you have to get credit.
horrible, but it’s been better. You can buy through wholesalers—
If I didn’t write it down, I would and then resell. But I wanted to buy
be liable of forgetting that I had direct from the company so I could
signed up to bring the paper plates get the most current inventory.
for my son’s Detroit Tigers opening
day party at school, for example. CC: You seem so confident! But
There are some things, however, owning this store could be consid-
that have a way of never escaping ered risky. Fashion is fickle. Things
your consciousness. go in and out on a dime. How did
Like when, as a label-obsessed you manage to stay ahead of the
junior high schooler, my mother times?
took me to Designer Wearhouse for ZC: The whole hip-hop move-
the very first time. The money I had ment of 1990s really made clothing
earned from babysitting was burning more important—through music.
a hole in my pocket. And I knew just Music and fashion go hand and
what to do with it. If jeans didn’t hand. At least that’s how it felt. I
have the Guess signature triangle or would watch MTV, read up on what
a Get USED leather patch affixed to was going on in both the music and
the back pocket, I didn’t want them. fashion industry. Also, I just followed
And my tale is far from unique. my gut. If I look at something and get
Designer Wearhouse is to the City a good feeling, I order it. And, over
of Wayne what J.L. Hudson’s on time, I’ve learned that if I’m indeci-
Woodward was to the City of Detroit. sive, I need to skip it. And, if I look
Located at the corner of Wayne at something and say no, then it’s no.
Road and Michigan Avenue, the store Whenever I’ve gone against my gut,
has become a landmark of sorts— I’ve paid the price.
one that is quintessentially modern CC: Let’s do a quick then-versus-
Wayne. now comparison. What were your
Well, the store just turned 40. most popular items, say, back in the
And while that revelation may 90s, the early 2000s, and today?
make some of us feel terribly old, the Store Manager Shane Mroue proud to be part of the family business. ZC: In the 1990s, it definitely was
undeniable upside is that, with the says Clark, whose mother was a pro- commitment and keep your faith, denim—Get USED, Major Damage,
unyielding support of each new gen- fessional seamstress in Brazil. “The you will be rewarded. I came in after Cross Colors. But Guess was the big
eration, Designer Wearhouse contin- only business classes I ever took Leo’s Jewelry & Gifts, but now we one. At that time, a huge part of our
ues to thrive. were in high school.” have other businesses that have store was devoted to Guess—so
Long before Designer Wearhouse Clark says it was meant to be, come [into the downtown corridor], much, that people actually thought
was even thought of, owner Zaina and she most definitely credits her and they’ve seen that we survived… we were a Guess store. We carried
Clark, a graduate of Michigan State faith for providing the necessary CC: Zaina, back then, what was more Guess than the department
University, was working as a dietary guidance in the form of knowledge- your vision for the store? I’m sure stores. The 2000s saw more hip-hop
supervisor at a nursing home. She able individuals, who, at times, you wanted to sell a lot of clothes, of merchandise—oversized shirts and
took a one-year leave from that posi- seemingly came out of nowhere. course. But what were you ultimately denim, designers like Phat Farm,
tion to help her brother with his ven- Here, The Wayne Dispatch sits striving for? Akademiks, and Karl Kani for men.
ture, a close-out store, which was down with Clark, 62, and her ZC: Well back then, there was For women it was Fubu, Baby Phat,
headed for foreclosure. nephew and partner, Shane Mroue, Mulholland’s Dry Goods Store, and Apple Bottom, and Derion. Today,
Overtime, Clark, who always had 30, to discuss Designer Wearhouse’s I thought, Why not have a mini ver- the fit of clothing has become slim-
an interest in fashion design, com- past, present, and future. sion of a department store for men, mer. And instead of designer cloth-
pletely rebranded the store’s image Courtney Conover: Thank you to women, kids? And at that time, I saw ing, premium brands are more
and introduced an always-current the both of you for your time today. that denim was becoming very popu- popular. So, the name of the de-
selection of inventory. Zaina, let’s start with you. How does lar—Jordache, Sergio Valente, signer isn’t as important. With pre-
Clark never returned to her di- it feel to still be here? Calvin Klein, Chic, Gitano, and Glo- mium goods, there is more of a focus
etary supervisor position, and the Zaina Clark: [This store’s] ria Vanderbilt—I wanted to get some on the material and how it’s crafted.
building her brother’s store was longevity is proof that you don’t have of those brands into the store. And I CC: Speaking of changes through-
housed in eventually became De- to be in a mall, you don’t have to wanted to buy directly. But just be- out the years, many of the shoppers
signer Wearhouse. have all the money in the world to cause you want to sell a brand, it
“I had no business background,” start a business. But if you make a doesn’t mean you’re allowed to sell it. See WEARHOUSE, page 4

The Wayne Dispatch · April 2022 · 3