5 Highlights You Should Know About From Detroit Month of Design 2020

Detroit recently concluded its annual Detroit Month of Design extravaganza led by Design Core Detroit. This year was extra special as it marked their 10th edition of the design festival and although many events were virtual this year, it only allowed even more participants across the country to discover the creativity and spirit of Detroit. Today we’re recapping five events that we especially loved in this year’s program:

1. Design in the City
This platform gives emerging fashion + accessory designers the opportunity to work with leaders from the fashion industry to further develop their business. This includes receiving invaluable knowledge in marketing support, technical assistance, mentorship, distribution opportunities and more. At the same time, the program helps designers showcase their work and build brand awareness.

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

2. Detroit Tribute in Light
The Grand Army of the Republic Building (Detroit’s iconic castle across from Beacon Park) was lit aglow with a moving video light show put on by the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Mindfield, and TLS productions. The show illuminated Detroit’s suffering and strength in the face of two pandemics, Covid-19 and racial injustice.

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

Photo: Noah Elliot Morrison

3. Local Color: Natural Dyes of Detroit
A zen-like public installation that can be safely viewed at The Delinquindre Cut (on 1905 Alfred St), Local Color showcased the beautiful and natural hues of plants grown and foraged in Detroit through a series of tapestries woven by weaver + artist Kayla Powers of Salt Textile Studios.

Photo: Noah Elliot Morrison

Photo: Noah Elliot Morrison

Photo: Noah Elliot Morrison

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

4. CCS Senior Fashion Accessories Showcase by CCS FAD Graduates
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) Fashion Accessories Graduate Showcase was on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit at Collected Detroit Gallery. The showcase highlighted four graduates who presented their collections of footwear, bags and other accessories: Amineh Ahmad with Arabesque, Evan Sparrow with Intelligent(1)Degenerate(2), Heron Robinson with Astro//Black, Mariana Sanchez with Lovour, and Tori Abrahams with Metamorphosis.

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms

Photo: Paul Taylor Firms



5. Designing Equitable Healthy Cities
In case you missed this talk, you can rewatch the live-stream put on by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The panel of National Design Award winners and jurors explored how design can help create healthier and more equitable cities, an especially important issue in light of COVID-19 and the systemic racism we’ve witness across the country.