In today's fast paced world of fashion where production schedules are tight, competition is fierce, and stockholders demand a consistent return on their investment, many designers have been forced into a world of mass production and cheap foreign labor in order to bring their creations to life. One would be hard pressed strolling through the aisles of Saks Fifth Avenue to find a rack full of garments that had been hand cut, hand sewn, and hand stitched by the designer without ever seeing the inside of a far away, overcrowded factory in some third world country. Paper sketch pads have been replaced with computer tablets, and seamstresses with robots who never ask to take a coffee, smoke, or bathroom break. "Where have all the flowers gone?" Asked Peter, Paul, and Mary so appropriately in their 1962 classic folk song sharing the same title. The flowers being old-world skilled artisans of Couture fashion in this case. And although the above scenario might sound bleak to industry veterans or anyone on the north side of the Millennial age line of demarcation in fashion design, alas, take a deep breath and wipe the sweat from your foreheads. There just might be a ray of hope.
Enter Celeste Smith, the first lady of Millinery in the USA. Smith has been hand crafting hats for more than 30 years and has a list of awards and accolades that stretches taller than a Gary Cooper top hat. Her hats adorn the walls of both the Smithsonian and Kentucky Derby museums, have been featured in Hollywood films, and are more like works of art than a clothing accessory that sits atop one's head. There are no fancy robots or computer aided design terminals in her modest, yet cozy design studio in Highland Park Michigan just around the corner from Henry Ford's very first auto assembly plant. But what you will find is hand-carved hat blocks, old-world artisan tools, some lovely antique china tea sets for her company and clients, and a whole lot of magic!
Smith was born in Detroit and grew up in the same neighborhood where her studio is now located. She learned fashion at an early age from her mother who was a designer and seamstress that did alterations for the B.Siegel department store, one of Detroit’s finest women’s apparel stores for close to 100 years. "My mother taught me how to sew when I was a little girl, and sometimes she would even take me with her into work." Smith remembers. "I would sit and watch her do alterations, and was fascinated by everything. There was also a lady named Lily that worked alongside my mother who would teach me how to sew beads to hats and other things, so that's really how it all started." Her mother would teach her not only how to sew, but also how to sketch out clothing and accessory designs, and then turn those designs into patterns cut from paper grocery bags and old newspapers. As she grew through her teens, she would start designing her own line of swing coats with her mother's help. But eventually her passion would turn (Continued)
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