With a love of fashion born in Detroit, cultivated on the coasts and inspired by travels across the globe, Christos Garkinos has a unique eye for style. Now, the celebrity stylist and co-owner of LA's designer consignment store Decades has brought that home with him to share with Metro Detroiters.
On Saturday, Garkinos will host a trunk show at The Hill, a steak and seafood restaurant in Grosse Pointe Farms owned by family friends Angelique and Andrea Soave Provenzano. At the day-long event, fashion-fiending women (sorry, gentlemen) will have their pick of designer couture from the past and present.
(Scroll down for photos of some of the fashion pieces available Saturday.)And who knows? A vintage Chanel piece may have previously been owned by a star. Garkinos counts Rachel Zoe, Julianne Moore, Selma Blair, Charlize Theron and other celebrities as clientele, who also sell to him.
Though Garkinos lives in LA (after discovering an allergy to cold at age 18 -- really), he cites his Michigan roots, and his stylish father, as a large influence. He grew up on Detroit's east side before moving to Grosse Pointe at the age of ten. His first real job was at a firm in the Renaissance Center, but long before that he spent time at his father's Eastern Market restaurant, Meat Town Inn.
"I started working there when I was basically one, because I'm Greek," Garkinos said. "At my parents' restaurant, they had a jukebox and they'd change the 45s every week."
Garkinos was influenced by both the music and style of Diana Ross and the Supremes, as well as the inherent glamour of the Motown era. But his heritage also played a role in his budding love of fashion.
"I grew up among strong Greek women. As a kid, I looked forward to seeing what women would wear to church."
He can also trace it back to a moment as a young boy at school.
"I was outside playing at recess. I heard this high school girl from [Grosse Pointe] North walking on the sidewalk in high heels. I thought, someday I'm going to be around that sound all the time. I don't know what it meant, but cut to me dressing women for the red carpet."
The weekend's Trunk Show will feature around 500 items individually handpicked by Garkinos, including many outerwear pieces, bags and shoes, from designers including Chanel, Prada, Chloe, Oscar de la Renta, Balenciaga, Burberry, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. The gently-worn pieces, curated to fit Detroit's cold seasons, are sold at up to 80 percent off the original prices.
"One girl's mistake is one girl's treasure," Garkinos said. "I'm able to give fashion afterlife to pieces."
As Garkinos visits with family during his trip to Detroit, (which will likely includd shopping with his mother at Target or checking out Royal Oak's boutiques), he's also celebrating the news of his forthcoming Bravo reality show with Decades co-owner Cameron Silver. The inside look at their professional lives in LA and the fashion world had audiences at Bravo laughing, Garkinos said.
"We're like the fashion Odd Couple," he said.
And, he said, he'll be talking about Detroit a lot on the show.
"I think the red carpet moments happen in Detroit at different types of places," he said.
It begs the question -- is a Detroit Decades store in the works? Unfortunately for local fashionistas, it's not in the cards for Garkinos, who says one shop is plenty to manage. But he'll continue to return home.
"Detroit fashion has influenced me throughout the years," he said.
Garkinos was also in town to participate in Thursday's Fashion Across the Decades, a charity fashion show that benefited the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation. A portion of proceeds from Saturday's trunk show will also go to the Children's Hospital.
The Decades Trunk Show takes place at The Hill restaurant, 123 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Farms, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free, and true fashion fanatics should show up on the early side -- each piece is one-of-a-kind.
Below, check out some of the shoes, bags, coats and dresses that will be available at Saturday's Trunk Show.
