ECG: Today we have Ms. Gina T of Identity Studio. How are you today Gina?
GT: I’m doing wonderful, and yourself?
ECG: I’m doing great. Let me start off by asking you where you’re from.
GT: I’m originally from South Carolina but I was raised in Detroit Michigan.
ECG: I see, I kind of detected a little southern swag. I’m a native Michiganian myself and I must admit that your reputation precedes you. Would you mind telling our viewers what it is that you’re involved in.
GT: Well, I have several things going on. Not just here in Detroit, but the entire Michigan area and sometimes beyond. I’m a licensed cosmetologist. I’m a hairstylist and makeup artist. I also do photography and fashion design. I’m also a model coach.
ECG: That’s very interesting. So cosmetology…how long have you been a cosmetologist?
GT: I’ve been styling hair for somewhere around twenty years but I received my license about twelve years ago.
ECG: As a cosmetologist, what is your specialty?
GT: Healthy hair. Healthy hair is very important to me. If you have healthy hair you can’t go wrong. You can get any style, and I can do any style. So I don’t like to say that specialize in a particular area in hairstyling. I’m excellent in haircutting, but the most important thing for me is to make sure that the hair is healthy.
ECG: Do you have any ultimate hair tips, like the secret to keeping our hair ‘kept’ in between salon visits?
GT: The first thing is to wrap your hair up. Products you don’t particularly have to use if your visits to the salon are weekly and in some cases bi-weekly will do. There are people who don’t like to wash their hair every week. African Americans sometimes go by the old myth that the hair shouldn’t be washed so often, but it’s just a myth. Regular shampooing will help to keep your hair healthy. Try not to let your hair remain tangled. Wearing a lot of ponytails or even braids can lead to dry hair and breakage. Let your natural hair breath, wrap it up at night, and shampoo regularly.
ECG: That’s great advice Gina. Thank you.
GT: You’re welcome.
ECG: You stated that you are a fashion designer. Fashion is one of my favorite topics. How long have you been designing clothes?
GT: Yes, I am a fashion designer. I’ve been designing for around ten years now.ECG: What is the name of your fashion line?
GT: The main line is Gina T. Fashions and I have a few names or lines up under Gina T. Fashions.
ECG: How would you describe your style?
GT: Red Carpet. I’m a Red Carpet girl. I like to be different. I specialize in party dresses because that’s what I started with originally.
ECG: So the look, how would you describe the look? Are we talking couture designs or a more modern, clean look?
GT: It would be more of a classy, modern, after 9 L.A. style, something that you would actually see going down the Red Carpet. A lot of the prom pieces that I do, the girls come to me because I don’t stick to the traditional designs. My designs are considered to be on a high fashion level.
ECG: At around what age did fashion peak your interest?
GT: I would say around the age of 28 or 29 years old.
ECG: What got you started with designing? Who or what was your inspiration?
GT: The main thing was me. I was always in the club. I don’t like going out and seeing someone else wearing the exact same outfit that I had gotten from the mall. Seeing someone in the same outfit just isn’t cool. That was one of the main things that started me to ‘redesigning’ clothes. I would buy the clothes and then cut them up or alter them in some type of way. I was actually inspired by Puff Daddy.
ECG: Puff Daddy?
GT: Yes, Puff Daddy in my opinion is a great entrepreneur. He has a really big brain and I followed him to a degree. I thought, if this man can do it, I can do it.
ECG: So what would be the one thing that you would recommend every woman have in their wardrobe?
GT: Well everyone knows that ‘the little black dress’ is and essential wardrobe item.
ECG: The little black dress, of course, of course.
GT: Yes, because you can match a black dress with almost any shoe, in any color and any accessory.It’s important to have a black dress. It can be short, long; it could have a train or a lot of different styles, just as long as it’s black.
ECG: What kind of woman would I most likely see wearing your designs?
GT: A woman that is on the move a lot, a woman who likes to stand out in a crowd. She likes to be different. She is definitely confident in how she looks and what she’s wearing. Because how I see it, it’s her style and my style infused.
ECG: Are you available for individual assignments? If I tried contacting you to have a piece made, is this possible?<
GT: Oh sure. That’s what I do. I don’t mass produce or manufacture my pieces right now. I am in the process of creating an urban line where I will design t-shirts and couple jeans. I hadn’t touched into the urban designs yet because for the past eleven years I’ve been basically doing custom designed one-of-a-kind pieces.
ECG: Does my size matter?
GT: No. Size does not matter. I think that all shapes are beautiful. You have to accentuate the parts of your body in the way that you want people to see you, or you to see yourself. If you have certain things that you would like to hide, then hide them. If there are certain body parts that you like to show, show them and don’t be ashamed. A lot of times we think that because we have different curves or different shapes that we have to hide certain body parts and in my opinion that’s not necessarily true.
ECG: So if I come to you, would you let me know the things that I should probably be hiding and the things that I should be revealing?<
GT: I would most definitely be honest with you, but because you’re my customer, overall it’s your decision. I believe in customer service being the most important thing in doing business. So it’s up to you, but I will aid you in making a decision.
ECG: Where do you get your models from?
GT: Well I started modeling when I was around 21 years old. I was in the industry and I saw a need for models in Detroit to have something more to do as well as come together and make our own money, so I started a company called Shades of Essence Modeling Academy.
ECG: Shades of Essence?
GT: Yes.
ECG: I like that name.
GT: Thank you. I started S.O.E. so that we could do our own shows and make our own money. I would do shows at Club Network, or what used to be Club Network in downtown Detroit. There I was given an opportunity to show my talent. The models come from all over Detroit. I recruited models and I would do their hair and make-up. I would get clothing stores to sponsor my events at first, which would be a very difficult task and also what led me to designing the clothes for them.
ECG: You mentioned that you are a make-up artist.
GT: Oh yeah, that comes with cosmetology. That comes with the hair. When you go to cosmetology school they actually teach you everything in the industry. So you learn a little bit of everything.
ECG: Do you have a certain style of make-up artistry that you do or are you pretty much versatile?
GT: I like high fashion make-up. I like lashes. I love a nice airbrushed face.
ECG: So you like to take it there?
GT: Yes, I do. I take it to the Next Top Model level.
ECG: Oh okay. Do you have any special awards or recognitions under your name?
GT: I actually received three awards from the City of Detroit when Kwame was in office. I have three awards from him for volunteering at Lamar Lemons campaign. He was the state representative. I would do hair and makeup for free at their big picnics that they would have at Chandler Park on the east side of Detroit.
ECG: The infamous Kwame Kilpatrick aye.
GT: Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting him several times in VIP.
ECG: And how was he?
GT: Umm, not really socializing a lot. He knows who he knows, you know. Let’s put it like that.
ECG: So you’re a mother, a wife?
GT: I am a mother and a soon-to-be wife. I have four beautiful daughters and I just became a grandmother. (exhale)
ECG: Oh Boy, so you have a lot on your plate. Did any of your girls get bitten by the fashion bug?
GT: My oldest daughter does hair. She’s been working with me since she was twelve. She does hair and makeup with me when I do my fashion show productions. My 17 year old, who will be 18 next month, she does hair as well and I think she starting to tap into make up a little bit. She’s starting to wear it a little bit herself now. My 14 year old actually does a little bit of everything that I do. She’s getting into the fashion industry. She has a line called Pink Lemonade which has been shown at Kid’s Fashion Week. We put Kid’s Fashion Week together and it was the first fashion show ever held in Detroit just for kids.
ECG: That’s very interesting. I see that you’re a hands-on mother, very involved with your girls.
GT: Yes, definitely.
ECG: What Gina, would you consider to be a big fashion no-no? The look that when you see it out in the streets it just makes you want to stop the person and tell ‘em something.
GT: There are actually two things. The first one will be for two categories, big and small. I’ll start with the small because I can actually relate to this. In the winter time, you see the skinny girl’s and they have on a pair of rider boots and their legs are too small. I absolutely hate seeing that because I hate it for myself.
ECG: So you have small ankles and legs?
GT: Yes. I love those boots, but I hate that I can’t fit them. So what I did was started sewing my boots.
ECG: I have the opposite problem. My calves are big, so I have to have the boots stretched or have them cut and elastic added to them.
GT: Now see, I love them on thicker legs. They look so cute. It’s important if you have skinny legs to find the right boots that fit because to me, that’s a no-no.
ECG: So what about the big girls? What shouldn’t they wear?
GT: Now the big girls…I hate seeing the big girls in those leggings and they don’t have on a shirt long enough to cover their bottom. That’s just a no-no.
ECG: Lol. My friend and I were out one day, I saw it and it absolutely burned me up on the inside. He told me look, just deal with it. Live with it.
GT: Skinny girls to me don’t look so bad with the leggings.
ECG: I don’t like that particular look on anyone, big or small.
GT: I just think that it’s not classy. It’s not a classy look at all.
ECG: No its not. Now, you also do photography?
GT: Yes I do.
ECG: Is there a studio or on site location that you use?
GT: Yes, Identity Studio, which is the root of everything. All of the other entities branch from Identity Studio. Identity Studio is the styling studio where you would come and get done up from head to toe.
ECG: If I came to you and I wanted the hair, the makeup, the photo shoot and the whole nine, is there a package or packages to choose from?
GT: A person can come in get one, two, three or a combination of all of our services. Depending on what you want done we’ll set your package and package price from there. The packages start at around $150, which is very, very reasonable. $150 will get you a photo shoot, makeup and partial hair. What I mean by partial hair is that you would come with your hair or weave already straight and then you would get it curled for the actual photo shoot.
ECG: How long does a photo shoot take?
GT: It depends; if you’re bringing it, then the shoot can take up to six hours lol. It depends on you. I mean because I love fashion, I love photography, I love art. I thrive off of energy. My fiancé Bruce Love does a lot of the photography for me now and I have to step back and let him be the man, you know take over some things. He would tell the models, “Hey, you’re not giving me anything!” When a person becomes an S.O.E. model or a member of S.O.E., because you don’t have to be a model to become a member, they’re taught facial expressions, body language and how to pose. So it’s a bigger picture for me. For me it’s about education.
ECG: Tell me a little more about your fiancé and business partner Bruce Love. It sounds like he may play a major part in bringing this entire operation together.
GT: Bruce love is my fiance. we met 7 years ago. Bruce was one of the top male models in Detroit. He has modeled and produced many shows in the area. Around 4 years ago we teamed up to help the models in Michigan, and yes he does play a major role in everything. Bruce is also a photographer, fashion show producer, retailer/ stylist for men and women. We do every thing together.
ECG: Are there classes or scheduled sessions for your members?
GT: Right now I do one-on-one individual lessons. By my schedule being kind of all over the place I like to cater to one person at a time, which for me is better. You’ll get more out of me if I we a one-on-one session.
ECG: Are there any future ventures already in the works that we can look forward to?
GT: Yes. The next upcoming event is July 2, 2011, Kids Fashion Week. In September we will be doing the Black and White Fashion Ball.
ECG: You sound like a busy woman indeed.
GT: I never sleep.
ECG: Well it’s a little late in the evening now, it might be a good time. Before we go, would you tell our viewers how to contact you?
GT: I can be reached by cell phone. I don’t mind giving out my number, it’s strictly business. The number is313.434.9497 or you can call my partner Bruce Love, 313.772.5343. We of course have a FaceBook. Gina T. Fashion on Facebook is the best way to contact me, I’m always on that site, everyday all day.
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