Kev Couture: Red carpets, runways and Rooftop Couture

Though his roots seed from Queens, New York, celebrity stylist Kev Couture is Michigan bred, after migrating to the mitten with his father in his pre-teen years.

With the beginnings of a Yankee, this fashion guru’s adolescent exposure in the east meshed with a northern upbringing to create the fashion uprising that is Kev Couture Fashion Inc. In less than a decade, Couture exposed the versatile eye that tastefully pieces together an individual’s brand.

In a morning interview at Sparrow’s Coffeehouse on Wealthy, a humble Kev Couture explained what has always been an interest in the broad field of fashion.

A graduate from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago, Couture says ”I’ve always had the goal to do something with fashion but my goal was not to be a stylist…I fell into this by happenstance.” As he narrates the events that led to his styling career, he details the length of experience that accredits his savvy selections.

Just five years ago, Couture’s potential was banked in merchandising for Venito Fashion in Grand Rapids, MI. It was during his time there that he was invited to intern on the set of Gun, a movie filmed locally and produced by rapper-actor Curtis Jackson (50 Cent). In a sudden recruit by lead stylist Sabra Temple, Couture was on set, hand-choosing wardrobe for 50 Cent, also lead in the film.

Later, Couture was invited to work with Temple for the Wolverine Fashion Show.

Since, his fashion sense and virtuosity in customizing looks have made him a sought-after stylist and fashion critic. Not only a judge for StyleBattle during Art Prize 2011 and a panelist on the local forum, Fashion Movers and Shakers, he is also stylist for Jim Schwartz, head coach of the Detroit Lions this fall. Singer Eric Benet, actress Ada Rodriguez and Austin Pettis of the St. Louis Rams are also among his clientele.

Though he receives a lot of his work through word of mouth, he still feels social media is important to his business.

With photos on Twitter and Facebook, his accounts on networks double as informal portfolios for his body of work. Both features in Rapid Growth and the Revue were linkages made possible via social networking.

Recently, Couture was contacted by Flawless Magazine, an online magazine based in London that now features Kev Couture’s Fashion Bible: keeping you up to date on the “latest trends directly from the US.” Even with international exposure, Couture plans to network live this year when he attends Fashion Week in London. He has also attended fashion week in Detroit, Toronto and L.A.

Currently, Couture is lead stylist for the highly anticipated Rooftop Couture Fashion Show set for August 11 in Grand Rapids. Conceptualized and hosted by Renee Jonkman and Crystal Hilliard, the show is a collective of “homegrown designers, models, and stylists.” A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Fashion has Heart, a nonprofit using “the powerful mediums art, design and fashion” to benefit wounded military men and women. The show, spearheaded by two local professionals, is designed to promote the community’s patronization of the local creative class.

Describing his past experiences backstage at shows, Couture remembers, “It’s like organized chaos when trying to do a fashion show...that’s all it is...I can’t wait.”