DeKoven Humes, left to right, Laura Horwath and Darryl Humes Jr. are partnering up in the local clothing brand world.
Two local clothing brands, Fern Boutique and Mature, have recently announced a partnership and pop-up apparel store located at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. The first of its kind, the collaboration between the brands will offer a unique shopping experience complete with pieces for both men and women.
With three brick and mortar locations in Michigan — Bay City, Ann Arbor and Detroit — Ferne Boutique carries a variety of everyday contemporary styles for women. Although not a seamstress, the brand’s owner wanted to launch a line that would instill comfort and confidence for the everyday woman.
“I really liked to shop in general as a kid. I was always the one wanting a checkbook or credit card from an adult at a young age. I always thought that everybody kind of wears the same thing in the Midwest. Everybody caters to a certain trend and I feel like I’ve always liked unique things and if I want to wear something and it’s not in season or not on trend, I’m going to wear it anyway,” said Laura Horwath, owner and founder of Ferne Boutique.
Mature, a clothing line conceptualized by brothers Darryl Jr. and DeKoven Humes, was founded in July 2017. Mature is a lifestyle clothier dealing in a total shopping experience for men. Selling a blend of dress wear, relaxed attire and accessories exclusively for men, Mature also offers custom tailoring.
“We launched our line with the vision of opening our own store someday. We used pop-ups to really test the product. We carry more of a contemporary casual [clothing line] as well as moderate, upscale attire,” said Darryl Jr. “2017 was really a pop-up year as well as 2018. In 2019, we were able to open up our temporary space inside of the Fisher building.”
The two brands met in 2017 during Bedrock’s Downtown Detroit Market where their booths were located next to each other. The two began an organic friendship that led to the launch of this exclusive partnership.
“I think we also realized really early on that our clothes are very complimenting to each other. We met then and stayed in touch. We started talking about this a couple years ago,” said Horwath.
The brothers of Mature have a hands-on approach to their inventory. Wanting to outfit all men, regardless of age or race, they continue to expand its shop with original designs for some of their own products.
“Me and my brother are very intentional on picking out everything, making sure everything is timeless, it speaks well to all — Black, white or whoever wants to buy it. There’s no color or no age to our clothing,” said DeKoven.
Although Mature does not offer women’s apparel yet, the idea is not off the table as the brand continues to mature.
“I think the most important thing for us is just providing a great product and service. Women have asked us from a stylistic standpoint. I think this is a great opportunity to see that cross collaboration and right now, we’re focused on continuing to build our own store, but I’m open to anything,” stated Darryl Jr.
Although combining the two Michigan-based brands is iconic alone, the comradery helps to grow the communities each business is serving. Through working together, each brand’s owner is displaying what happens when passion meets purpose.
“We need to continue to work together. Any business owner, collaborations: it builds both businesses. It’s going to be a competition anywhere you go in business, but it should really be about the community supporting each other. We can’t just open a store and expect it to just be amazing. It has to have reason and purpose for why people relate to it and the brand has to really resonate with people,” said Horwath.
Ferne Boutique and Mature’s collaborative pop-up will be available at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi through December 31, 2021.
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