We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michelle Fite. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Michelle , thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I love singing and it’s something that I typically don’t share because of some childhood issues and basic stage fright. Last year a therapist who works with a hybrid method of Jungian and Internal Family Systems methods and voice work as the focus popped up serendipitously in my feed and my intuition screamed to reach out so I did. I knew that it would be really healing to finally tend to that wound and to find someone I felt safe singing around and I could sense that it would benefit my career since we talk about the “voice of a designer” all the time. My next collection is going to really reflect my personality and aesthetic so it makes me feel vulnerable to put that visual voice out into the world where it’s open to criticism and I felt that if I fully expressed and loved my actual voice that acceptance and confidence would permeate all of my creation and help me feel strong enough to take the leap into revamping and fully aligning and it really has, I feel more confident and self accepting than I ever have and as a bonus, my voice has improved and I am so grateful that I have done this for myself.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the CEO of Fite Fashion LLC. I do all of the designing, sourcing, patterning and sewing right now so I am a solopreneur.
My passion has always been to create sustainably and to use my skills to serve by constantly decreasing my impact and paying a living wage when I am able to hire help. My overarching goal is to create a sustainable, ethical legacy fashion house with a couture line as well as a core collection of sustainable designer basics, sustainable lingerie, bridal, accessories and menswear. I feel that sustainable fashion has a fashion problem, meaning that there are lots of brands creating every day basic garments, which is great and necessary, but I don’t see a lot of high end, editorial pieces that could seamlessly take over magazine covers and serious VIP filled runway shows. Psychologically, the eye buys and fashion is emotional and aspirational so I am transitioning into work that will focus on proving that sustainable is sexy and exclusive and just as editorial and exciting as what we see in the major magazines. I am creating designer quality pieces from my scraps, the scraps of other small businesses and I am using new tools and creating my own textiles to prove that we have all of the materials we need already, we just need the imagination and persistence required to turn them into new, beautiful stylish pieces that will be coveted and cherished. Everything I make now is an act of love.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
These are all great and deep questions so it was hard to choose but I chose this one because I want to honor this person.
When I was little, my Gramme’s fiancé Tom was such a gentle and generous presence in my otherwise negative and chaotic childhood. I don’t have tons of photos of him but when I look at them it’s obvious that he really got a kick out of me, that he loved me like I was his grandkid and I knew that it made him happy to spend time with me. He would take us to the beach and ice capades and the circus and totally spoil me on birthdays and holidays and he was so different from any of the other men around me. He got cancer from his work and that year he had paid for all of us to go to Disney World in an RV that he rented for my 6th birthday. He was too sick to join us but he insisted that we all go anyway and we did. He didn’t live much longer but he received a settlement from work about the cancer, I guess there was something they were liable for and he put a lot of that money into a trust fund for my education because he knew that I would need it and even though we only had that short time together and I was so young, he believed in my potential and I will be eternally grateful for that, I wish that I could share everything I am doing with him and I dedicate my work to him.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
So many times, I can’t even count. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be an artist and I started out drawing and painting and then got into dress up and Barbies and other dolls etc. I started to notice how I responded to different kinds of clothes like how a certain dress up outfit would make me feel and what I might want to express simply because I was wearing that and it seemed empowering. I would think about that when I dressed my dolls and how they were kind of like the store mannequins and I began to imagine making doll clothes. As I got a bit older I realized that people had jobs designing and making clothes and I was really interested in that but the adults around me discouraged me and I was in the Gifted program which was very STEM oriented and they tried to steer me in that direction so I dropped out. I got talked out of being a fashion designer but I knew that I wanted to go to art school because that’s what I was best at and most interested in and it was becoming increasingly clear that I had a really hard time with math. I started out at MICA in Baltimore as a painter in 1994 and had lots of different non linear experiences that led me back to fashion in 2009. I entered the MFA Fashion Design program at the Academy of Art University in San Fransisco because I decided that I had to at least know if I could do this. While I was there, my math related issues were sometimes problematic and I had 2 different professors scream at me in front of class, one yelled ” I don’t understand, I thought you were a smart girl “. I went home and sat on the floor crying and said, I give up, I can’t do this why am I dumb enough to think that I can. I told my friend who was becoming a psychologist and she figured out that I have the learning disability Dyscalculia which is kind of like Dyslexia but with numbers and mathematical processes. I was so relieved that I knew what was happening but I still failed that class and had to retake it and it was really embarrassing and discouraging. I came home crying so many times from grad school but I knew that my future self would be even more upset if I didn’t graduate so I finally did though I have some lasting scars from that and lots of math related things cause me anxiety ! When I set up my business and got my LLC officially registered, I tattooed my logo on my upper right arm to solidify my commitment to myself and my dream and also to get me through those days when I am crying and feeling like an idiot for trying to pull off such a huge dream alone. I can’t quit now, I am literally branded.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
My current project is a labor of love and the manifestation of my belief that we can create amazing fashion that does not come at the expense of people or the planet. Beauty should not create suffering, it is not necessary to extract or pollute these days. We have both the low impact methods that existed for centuries and the new technologies like closed loop dye systems . We have the ability to use fashion to lift people out of poverty and create ripples of prosperity throughout the globe, there are no longer any excuses. Giant companies with giant budgets and the conglomerates that own them can absolutely upgrade their equipment, shift to renewable energy, implement closed loop systems, improve worker safety and pay living wages, they can even afford profit sharing which is something that I intend to do. My current work has taken years to even begin which is why what you see on my website has been there much longer than a single collection normally would be. Behind the scenes, I have been perfecting and grading my patterns so that you can order size 0-12 in cup sizes A, B and C. I have been gathering materials from Fabscrap, small Etsy shops, thrift stores etc because I decided that any high impact materials like leather, sequins and any synthetics that I use must come from secondary non virgin sources because I don’t want to encourage new production of such things. I have also been finding and learning new tools so that I can transform these typically “trash” pieces into designer quality goods. I have also been experimenting with creating textiles out of the tiniest scraps like threads that get trimmed and seam allowance trimmings and serger tails so it’s all very time consuming but being a good example always is.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If immortality were real, what would you build?
I think about this all of the time. I would build systems that could be replicated that would destroy this current patriarchal, war mongering, destructive matrix, There are so many ripples that I want to create in this world, it’s my main motivation, I can’t give up because then I am giving up on the good that would result from my success which also means that it really hurts when I don’t reach a goal because I don’t want to fail. It’s been my intention to create an example of what a fashion house should be for example. I want vertically integrated manufacturing in net zero facilities. It’s been my goal to have my storefront in the same space that the garments are being sewn in and to provide video streaming so people can watch their orders being made which not only connects people to the fact that actual humans make our clothes but it provides proof of proper labor practices which aids in transparency, I am not just saying that I am ethical, you can see it for yourself. I hope to expand internationally and I want to have this model so if I were to sell in London, those items would be made there instead of being shipped, this creates local jobs and minimizes my use of fossil fuels. if you are a UK customer your order wouldn’t be shipped as far as it would be if I only used a factory in China etc. I intend to have circularity systems in place so if you bought a garment from me and you wore it out or changed sizes you could print a label, send it back to me and receive some credit depending on the materials and condition of the item. You could also fill out an application to send me something usable that you didn’t buy from me like a damaged leather jacket or a dated dress and I could issue credit for that. These are some examples of my starting point but I think very big and my thoughts include the pain points of every independent designer, namely how to get in front of target customers and actually make a profit which is something I have never done myself. I think we need a global network of independent, sustainable designers who pool resources and have a dedicated marketing team. We could each pay a membership fee and in exchange we have a comprehensive profile which makes it easier to find each other and for our customers to find us. We could post pop up events, sample sales, upcoming projects and have access to a serious team of professional marketing and PR people who could promote those events, produce fashion shows, help us get into stores and make decisions about branding, packaging, scaling etc. It should be a non profit so we can raise funds and uplift each other and be a true counter point to organizations like LVMH and Gucci group etc who make it so difficult for small brands to break into the market. I could go on, I have a milliion ideas lol
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fitefashion.com
- Instagram: @fite_fashion
Image Credits
Model for the pink bow runway photo and white bow runway photo with me Rain Batingana fashion model.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
