originally written 3.26.22
Detroit's B.A.P.S. (definition): Women who have Bold Authentic Passionate Style
It started on a cold, yet sunny….light flurries kind of day. I was headed to the Shinola Hotel for a creative production called, 'Detroit's Dictator of Taste - Women's History Month' by my dear friend Micah Shumake. As I waited to cross Woodward, I heard a soft, high-pitched voice, "Excuse me!?" I looked over my right shoulder to see a small lady all bundled up in tan leather from head to toe. I turned around with my hand on my chest as if that were my answer stating, "Me?'' She responded, "Oh yes, I was wondering if you could help me find the other parking garage, that one says residents only, but I know I walked from this way."
I responded pointing in the direction of the other parking garage that was public parking and she had to have noticed my fanny pack tucked tightly under my arm as my body motioned in the other direction. "Okay okay great, thank you so much Glam-Aholic." My hand instantly hit my chest again as I mouthed the word, 'huh?' She held up her leather brown bucket bag and repeated, 'Glam-Aholic,' I immediately lit up and said, "Ooooh yesss! Hey Glam-Aholic, I hope you have a great day 😀 She smiled too, waived and headed on her way. We parted ways. I thought to myself, wow - thank you Mia.
Across the street, I was graciously ushered into the main lobby of the Shinola Hotel by a polite gentlemen who asked, 'are you meeting someone here?' 'well yeah…as I glanced over the lobby and saw absolutely no one who looked like me, I muttered, 'I'm looking for a group of fly black women.' He chuckled and responded, 'That's blunt, haha, well you can see there's no one here yet besides you. Feel free to grab a seat.' So what does that call for? A trip to the bathroom for a quick mirror check.
When I returned, the lobby was empty, so I took a seat on a vintage teal sofa and admired the artsy aesthetics. Sooner than later...one-by-one...beautiful black women...with a strong sense of authentic style, started to pour into the lobby area effortlessly enhancing the aesthetics of the room. As each person strolled in, the hesitant ask of, 'Are you here for Micah?' kept being asked.
And that's when it all began. When Micah first asked me to join this project as one of the creative style directors, I had no idea about how strong everyone's authentic would effortlessly show on set and behind the scenes. It was a truly beautiful thing to a part of and experience✨
"Style is subjective, it's creative, and it's free. I made sure I didn't limit the amount of freedom women had when it came to constructing their expression," said Creative Style Genius and Dictator of Taste, Micah Shumake. "Often times, when we create an expectation, we can feel bamboozled or off-set. so I intended to not have a expectation and to just allow women to be colorful."
"Because I let go of control my mind was blown by the body of art women produced, that was the point, no control, no bounds, and no limits"
- Micah Shumake
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