Four years after establishing his brand online, Detroit fashion designer Ken Walker is set to open a brick-and-mortar retail space in one of the city’s bustling neighborhoods.
The K. Walker Collective flagship store will open its doors to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday in an 1,700-square-foot space at 4161 Cass Ave. — the former Cass Collective Detroit. The store will feature items from Walker’s line that include sweatshirts, polos, hats, bottoms, hoodies and windbreakers.
“While K. Walker Collective has been prominently available online, I’m now in an overcrowded market where other clothing brands are fighting for the same attention and sometimes the same consumer,” Walker said in an email to Crain’s. “I believe a premium lifestyle brand should offer an exceptional omni-channel experience, so having a physical place for me to immerse my customers is pivotal.”
Walker, a graduate of the Detroit School of Arts and Michigan State University, earlier this year partnered with Detroit Pistons G-League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, on a uniform design.
“Since launching (the collection) in 2018, I always envisioned the K. Walker store being right in the neighborhood and not in the suburban malls — that are typically filled with stores that do not always reflect the demographic and eclectic tastes of a fashion-forward local Detroit native,” Walker said in the email.
Walkerhas invested $105,000 to get the store up and running: $60,000 of his own money and $45,000 from Motor City Match, Tech Town’s retail boot camp, Black Leaders Detroit and Citi Trends Black History Makers. Walker expects to bring in $40,000 in revenue this year and $250,000 in 2023.
