Looks to Die For

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By day, the Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit is a forest-themed play place. But one night early last May, it was transformed into a fashion showcase.

A gaggle of photographers, bloggers, and fashion enthusiasts crowded into the development near the RiverWalk. The lights were dimmed, music blared, and models filled in spaces between the center’s man-made waterfall, rocks, and trees.

This is The Fashion Massacre.

While fashion weeks take place in New York, London, Milan, and Paris throughout the month of February, The Fashion Massacre is held here in May. And each spring for the past seven years, it has put the spotlights on different venues in Detroit alongside emerging designers. It’s been in Electric Studio, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, and YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.

Tyna “Fance” Logan, creator and producer behind The Fashion Massacre, says the event has evolved from an underground fashion showcase to more of a mainstream presentation. This year’s event is in the Detroit Historical Museum’s basement-level Streets of Old Detroit exhibit.

“What we’re going to do in that space [is] going to be phenomenal,” she says. “I want people to get chills from the experience.”

The Fashion Massacre will feature 12 designers, including a brand from Chicago and one from New York. Out of Stock, a metro Detroit-based men’s and women’s streetwear brand, will also be presenting at the event for the third time this year.

Although Logan was born and raised in Detroit, the stylist and self-taught production professional was inspired to introduce The Fashion Massacre here after attending shows for Hood by Air, Jeremy Scott, and more at New York Fashion Week.

The Fashion Massacre takes things a step further than most traditional shows, bringing an interactive edge to its production. It’s a mix of runway and presentation-style formats where attendees are encouraged to not only admire and photograph the looks, but to also feel the clothing, engage with models, and ask the designers questions.

“I want people to be able to say ‘Hey, I want to purchase this dress or this garment,’” Logan says. “It’s for the designer to get exposure and for people to know about these designers so they can buy clothing and support our local community.”

Although she’s spent the better part of the last year conceptualizing this year’s event, Logan is looking ahead to what she believes will be The Fashion Massacre’s biggest accomplishment yet: its 10-year-anniversary.

“There’s a fashion district that’s trying to take place in the city, so I want to get that entire district involved with the 10th year,” Logan says.


The Fashion Massacre is May 7. massacrefashion.com