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MOUNT CLEMENS — In recent years, the school store at Mount Clemens High School has been little more than a wayfinding post for students. But as of Dec. 17, it has become a showcase of Bather creativity.
Students and faculty were joined by Tommey Walker, founder of fashion label Detroit VS Everybody, for the final session of a Walker-led program that saw Mount Clemens students learn about, explore and ultimately participate in the business of fashion.
The 10-hour course came about through discussions between Walker and district faculty members — notably Terri Lowe, the Mount Clemens High School college and career success coach, who had met Walker through her prior work in youth outreach for the YMCA of Metro Detroit. Lowe got the discussions started between Walker and the school.
“When I came to the school district, I ran into him and we talked about creating a partnership where kids would be able to actually start their own business in the area of retail and design,” Lowe said. “It was a passion of his as well. It was something that he was passionate about doing and I was like, ‘I have the perfect place.’”
Walker — a self-described “roads scholar” who turned his experience as a graphic designer with record labels Interscope, Def Jam and Jive into the DVE brand — wanted to equip students with the knowledge of the business world he lacked upon starting his journey.
“I wish that this was a program that I had coming up,” Walker said. “That was what really excited me. If someone could have come in, showed me how tangible it is. We took it from ideation to creation … to manufacturing up at our facility — they got to see the items being screen printed and embroidered — to sales. It was really a real-life experience from A to Z.”
Walker and district faculty members hammered out details over the summer of 2024. The end result was the fashion entrepreneurship course beginning in September. Walker and other DVE team members taught students various aspects of the business world, ultimately with the goal of creating designs that would be sold through the school store. Designs from all of the participating students in the program have made it onto the DVE-produced clothing sold at the store, but senior Brooklyn Fountain took the top honors of rebranding the store to “Real Bather Activity.”
“I was at a basketball game and one of the players, Don Redding, made a three and I jumped up and said, ‘Real Bather activity!’” said Fountain, 17. “Back when I was growing up, I heard something by the sound of that — but it was a different word, it didn’t say ‘Bather’ — so I took the ‘real’ and ‘activity’ part and put ‘Bather’ in it because that saying meant family, and that’s what we are. We are a community, and we all stick together. When you come here, you’re not a stranger for too long. You’re going to fit right in with somebody here. Everybody is somebody’s family here.”
As part of having been voted by the class to rebrand the store, Fountain received a rug in the shape of the Real Bather Activity logo. She plans to hold onto the rug for her future endeavors.
“(The class) made me feel good,” Fountain said. “It made me feel like I did something. I finally have a purpose for something. I felt like I didn’t have a purpose for nothing here, but now I’ve done something. We could not have done this without our principal (Dennis Veal). He brought them here, and I feel very happy and grateful about that. Very happy, very happy. Words can’t even explain how happy I am.”
Though a limited course, the fashion entrepreneurship slots into a wider push by the school to expand its career technical education offerings. Courses that blend in-class education with subjects beyond the school walls are in short supply, but Veal sees opportunity as time progresses.
“As we grow in students, with enrollment, we have the opportunity to add extracurricular courses or ‘specials,’ if you will,” Veal said.
Shirts, hats, hoodies and other items carrying student-designed branding can be purchased at the school store during school hours. Clothing is produced by DVE, and revenue is split between DVE and the district. Karen Hines, the staff and student recruiter at Mount Clemens High School, said discussions are ongoing with Veal about how to make the clothing available to purchase during sporting events, after school activities and outside of school hours.
