By Ameera Steward | For The Birmingham Times
Daniel Grier is a designer under his brand, Splashed by DKG, and the founder of Magic City Fashion Week, an emerging designer competition.
“I’m someone who’s totally about community,” said the 39-year-old. “I love to see people win, see people succeed. The underrepresented populations really mean a lot to me in [regard to] visibility, access, [and] equity.”
For the past three months, The Birmingham Times interviewed some of the area’s leading fashion designers and tastemakers about the cultural and historical examination of Black style.
Grier’s initial interaction with fashion was through his grandmother, Ellen Jean Green, and his father, Kenneth Harris.
His grandmother often wore a different wig every day, sometimes multiple styles in a week.
“I felt like she was a different character, or like an avatar every day,” he added. “She’s [four feet, 11 inches tall], but she would walk into a room and everybody would look at her.”
His father worked at Flowers Bakery in downtown Birmingham, where he wore an all-white uniform. He would start getting dressed an hour and 15 minutes before work.
“Everything was white, everything was clean, everything had to [be hit] with the iron. … I would see steam going up in the air, pressing out that uniform, and by the time he left for work he was polished,” Grier recalled.
His father and grandmother both exposed Grier to luxury within their means by taking care of themselves—layering cologne, laying their outfits out the night before, and more.
Grier is originally from Fairfield, Alabama, but when he was in the fifth grade his family relocated to Gardendale, Alabama, where he spent the rest of his school years. He graduated from Gardendale High School in 2004.
“Gardendale was the first place that I really noticed community,” he said. “I started learning the power of connecting and making friends of your own. … I learned the power of joining clubs, joining organizations, playing sports.”
The community Grier built in Gardendale was so strong that he still dresses some of his classmates today.
“I now thank my mom for [moving to Gardendale] because, I didn’t know it at the time, but it was like a crash course for everything I’m doing now,” Grier said, adding that his Gardendale peers expressed themselves a bit more than his Fairfield peers when it came to fashion and art.
After graduating from high school, Grier attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to study community health education with a minor in human services. He made it to his junior year but felt unfulfilled and chose a different path.
One day, he was trying to repurpose clothes in his garage instead of giving them away, so he tried to tie-dye them with bleach. After seeing the end product and the response to his creations, he started his brand, Splashed by DKG, in 2013—and the rest is history.
You can follow Daniel Grier on Instagram: @thedesignerdkg.
Q&A
The Birmingham Times (BT): Why is dressing well important?
Daniel Grier (DG): “Personally, I could wake up on the wrong side of the bed, feeling the worst, … [and knowing] that day is a day I’m going to need some time to get ready because clothing is the armor we put on our body—it not only tells a story, it communicates. … The first thing you’re going to see is what I have on, how I’m presenting myself that day. … When you look great, you feel great, and you perform great.
“I’m a big communicator, so fashion is just a way to communicate with people without saying a word. They’ll know I’m feeling myself because I’m looking, I’m smiling … in my element. I think it’s extremely powerful. It’s extremely important to connect the physical with your confidence, to elevate it to where you need it to be. … It’s natural that we’re going to have a bad day, … but fashion is such a therapist.”
BT: Why is dressing well important as a Black man?
DG: “Over my 39 years, I have learned that we’re perceived a certain way when we come into the room, when people learn about us, when they see us, they just automatically have some type of preconceived notions about us.
“I’m not like every other Black man on the street. We’re all different. I want to be taken seriously. … We all have our own stories, our own backgrounds, our own makeup—respect us as such.”
BT: What is your process when getting dressed each day?
DG: “I try to pre-plan as many outfits as I can. For instance, if I go into a store, I can’t buy a shirt, pants, shoes, and just wear it that night. … That’s just not the make up of how I dress. … It really [depends on] what I’m going for. Every day [the goal] is just to feel my best about my body.”
BT: Any advice for young Black men who wish to dress well?
DG: “Start learning. … Is there anybody [you see] that you like the way they dress naturally? … [Ask yourself where] your style inspiration comes from. … Start learning about what it is that’s drawing you into this industry, even if it’s yourself.
“Fashion is mainly about the fit: understanding cuts, understanding designers, understanding [time] periods. … We have every method in the world [for research] right now. You have ChatGPT, Google, YouTube, fashion people who tell stories on Instagram—follow them, learn about these designers, their cuts, and why you like certain things.”
