Detroit native fashion designer Char discovered her passion was also a family tradition.
Charketa “Char” Glover did not want to be a fashion designer as a kid growing up on Detroit’s east side. In fact, she wanted to be either a psychologist or in computer technology. Well, Glover actually became a licensed cosmetologist and until she followed her long time passion of fashion designing. Her passion landed her on Project Runway in 2014 and the best is yet to come!
Read more about Char Glover Episode 20 of People You Should Know.
- You placed 4th on Lifetime’s Emmy-nominated TV series “Project Runway” in 2014 and have dressed celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Christina Milian, Angela Simmons, Keyshia Cole, and many more. How does it feel to reach this milestone in your career?
“Well, it feels really good to see women that you’ve looked up to and admired from afar now wearing your designs. You can’t describe the feeling. It’s amazing. I’m so thankful.”
- How did you go from making a few pieces for family and friends in Detroit to being on “Project Runway”?
“To be honest with you, I kept going. I kept getting better, kept practicing, going to the thrift stores and buying pieces and taking them loose because I’m a self-taught designer. So I would go get a vintage piece because at the thrift store things are affordable. I’d get a dress, take it loose like ok that’s how you take a sleeve loose and I just learned from there. Then my family and friends were like I want to buy that and I would sell it to them. Money is a motivator. After making a couple of dollars, I was like wait a minute let me make two of these and it just kind of grew from there.”
- What initially got you into fashion and at what age?
“Well my grandmother sewed. She was a designer. So I grew up around fashion. I was raised by a creative person. So I think it was always in my blood, but I was a hairdresser first. I did that from 19 to recently; maybe 5 years ago. So I was a hairdresser and one of my friends was like, ‘Hey, I want you to style the photo shoot for me’ and I’m like ‘Style a photo shoot? I do hair like you. Why do you want me to style the photo shoot?’ and he’s like ‘I just think you can do it.’ And I ended up dressing like 12 girls and I just made them some stuff with a needle and thread, safety pins and I ended up like, what a minute this is cute! So I ended up doing it a little bit more. I told my grandmother and she bought me a sewing machine for my birthday and that’s what started it; by her buying me the sewing machine of course you’re going to play around with it. Then I had to play around with designs a little bit when I did pieces for them and it just kind of kept going. So that’s how it started.”
- What inspires you to create different designs?
“To be honest with you, I feel like I really just recently got my mojo kind of after I left “Project runway”. Before I went on the show, my inspiration came from me just creating pieces that were different. Like I didn’t have a ‘girl’ in my head. When I went on the show I remember two things that changed the trajectory of my career. One of my castmates, Amanda, always used to say I got my ‘girl’ in my head. I didn’t know what that meant, and one day we were talking and I said what do you mean by that? You always say that and she said I know who my ‘girl’ is. And I think prior to “Project Runway”, I didn’t know who my ‘girl’ was. I was just saying if I’m going to make a skirt, I’m going to make a skirt nobody else has ever made. So that combined with once we were on panel, it was a judgement day; you know one of the days they judge you to see if you make it to the next round. Nina Garcia and Zac Posen both said you’re one of the most stylish contestants we’ve had on the show. Why don’t you design pieces that you would wear? These pieces don’t go with you. This skirt, I can see where you’re going, but it doesn’t even look like you would wear that skirt. After that I said that makes sense. Why don’t I make stuff that I would want to wear? So ever since then I said ok I will make pieces that I would wear; also that I see my ‘girl’ wearing. Now when I create a collection, or upcoming season, I’m like what is my ‘girl’ wearing for this spring? For this spring ‘she’s’ feeling flirty. So all season you’ll see flirty and fire design. Now it’s fall, ‘she’s’ feeling dark. So now we’ll do a gothic collection, you know like that. That’s how I’m motivated now.”
- Tell me the meaning behind your brand Rockn Remix fashion line.
“Rockn Remix honestly…before Rockn Remix I had a brand called Char Grel Couture; that was a mixture of me, my grandmother, and my father’s name. I started sewing and had to have a name. I said let me come up with a name that has meaning. So I had that up until “Project Runway”. So then I thought one day, what would Char Glover from “Project Runway” make? So I wanted to make a line that she would make. Now I have this new information. You know, you go on this platform and that changes you. I wanted the new brand to be a reflection of this new platform so that’s where that came from.”
- What made you move from Detroit to L.A. after being on “Project Runway”?
“My grandfather. One day he called, cause he’s brutally honest, that’s kind of where I get it from. So one day he called and he said what you doing? And I said sewing, and he was like but you were doing that before you got on the show. Why would you go on the show then come back home and do the exact same thing? And I was like wait a minute you’re right. You know sometimes you kind of get back in your comfort zone without knowing it. You get back to routine, and he was like you went on this show to do all of that to come back and sew at home? It doesn’t make sense. He said why don’t you…well I’m not going to tell you everything he said but it was enough for me to put fire under my butt. Also he’s getting older and that was a fear too, and he was like no don’t stop living your life for me. He kind of released me a little bit. Like no, go out here if this is what you want to do, do it. So he’s been my biggest supporter, but it was him honestly. He gave me the push. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have moved to L.A., because I lived out here before and went home. In Detroit, I was more focused. Coming back home, you don’t have anything to lose so I think that was the deciding factor for me moving forward. Did the show and came back. He just gave me that dose of reality like hey don’t sleep on this. You have to strike while the iron is hot.”
- When comparing fashion school and learning as you go, which is better?
“I enrolled in community college. They had a sewing class so I took Sewing 101 because I wanted to start with the basics. The first day she was like this is a sewing machine, this is a needle like that’s how basic it was. Now keep in mind I was already sewing and selling my pieces. I just wanted to get the foundation of sewing down packed, but it was too slow for me because if you go to a beginners class it’s going to be people in there like where’s the power button. It was just too slow. So I literally only went for like 3 weeks. I think being self taught, what it did was it removed expectations. So I was able to be more creative because I didn’t have anything to gage. I didn’t have anything to compare my growth to. So I loved the fact that I did that. By me starting off using vintage pieces, I think that was my edge. I had to be creative and resourceful. In the beginning that was my thing, I would take vintage pieces and reconstruct them. I’m so grateful I did that. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. No experience goes wasted. I’ve never had regrets. Whatever it is, I’m showing up for it.”
- As a designer, what are your favorite fabrics to use and why?
“I love stretch crepe and the reason I love it is because it has a lux look but it gives you the typical stretch people love but it looks high-end and it has flow. So it’s like the best of both worlds. I really, really love that. Like do a nice pair of pants out of that, you walk and they move but they still hug you in the right places and they look expensive. That, that’s magic.
- You’re originally from Detroit. First, what up doe?! Second, how does Motown’s style, the home of fur coats and gators, influence your personal style?
“Absolutely. I don’t think you can live somewhere the majority of your life and not be influenced by your environment, definitely. I think Detroit, we have such a boldness about us you know. More than anything, I think my Detroit attitude definitely is a reflection of my clothes and my design aesthetic. When I design, I don’t have any limits. I don’t design hoping people like it. I design like let me turn you on to this. It’s a boldness you have to have to do that. To create something and say I’m making 30 of them, I don’t know if somebody is going to like it but I like it. You have to have a boldness, and I think coming from Detroit we have that.”
- What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own fashion line?
“The first thing I would probably say is give yourself room to grow. That’s number one because the designer I started out as, I’m not here anymore. I’ve grown, I’ve evolved. So give yourself a chance to find your setting. Also you have to have tough skin. You might make a design and think it’s amazing, but maybe your family and friends don’t get it. But then the beauty of having social media is we can reach girls in Miami, New York, Ohio, you know what I mean. So the people close to you might not get it, but that’s just not your ‘girl’. Be confident enough to find your ‘girl’. Have tough skin and be okay with finding your audience. Then I would also say you begin by beginning. I started off going to the thrift store reconstructing pieces. I couldn’t afford to go to the fabric store and buy fabric and then I really didn’t know how; but even with me not having that knowledge it still didn’t stop me. So you begin by beginning. Take what you have and it’ll develop. There’s a saying you take one step, God will take two. My key to success is just being consistent with going to the next step. Don’t be scared to start.”
View Char Glover’s New Clothing Line
When it comes to fashion it’s about expressing yourself and owning that expression. This new line is one version of Char that she chooses to express. She’s already had tons of orders for this line so get yours now at her website RocknRemix.com.
