One Of New York's Hottest Fashion Labels: From Northern Michigan

A song made famous in 1957 by Johnny Mathis inspired a hot new fashion brand that began when two graduates of the Art Institute of Chicago set out to share their creative visions.

For one of those graduates, Shane Gabier (pictured above, right), the adventure began in a small northern Michigan community.  

From Northern Michigan to Fashion         
Creatures of the Wind, or COTW, based in New York City and co–owned by Gabier and his partner Christopher Peters (pictured above, left), designs and manufactures high–end women’s couture. Pharrell Williams recently wore a COTW jacket on The Voice. Last year, other famous customers appeared in COTW garb that garnered critical acclaim, including former first lady Michelle Obama.

In a recent interview at New York City Fashion Week, Gabier explained that he and Peters appreciate the attention but are largely oblivious to the hype. “We’re not really focused on what’s happening out there,” he said. “It’s more like we’re in our own little bubble, just putting our collection together. If you’re actually working as a designer in New York, you’re rarely participating because it’s your busiest time of the year. The social aspect is kind of fun, but it’s not our priority, ever.”

Perhaps Gabier’s down–to–earth take is the result of growing up in the tiny Michigan town of Mesick, population 390 as of the last census. Located near the Manistee National Forest with an abundance of tree varieties as well as abundant wildlife, Mesick offered the young Gabier opportunities to design with wood, yet music became his greatest inspiration.

“[As a kid,] I never really knew you could work in fashion,” he said. “It wasn’t on my radar at all until much later. I was really interested in music. Music culture was the first tangible place that I could identify [with], a lot of new wave and post punk.” 

After high school graduation, Gabier moved to Traverse City, where he studied art history and design at Northwestern Michigan College for two years. Of his upbringing in Mesick, Gabier explained, “Growing up in a town where there isn’t a lot of cultural stimulation or any arts programs at school encourages you to build your own little world. I took a lot of cues from things I saw and liked when I was a kid. When there aren’t a lot of creative influences, you have to discover them for yourself. You have to search to find the things that resonate with you.”

Gabier stayed in Traverse City an additional year after completing his studies and then enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. He lived in the city for the next 17 years and still owns a home there. Initially, the future fashionista deferred to his first interest – the woods that grow abundantly around his northern Michigan home.

“What I started at the Art Institute, I was doing architecture and furniture design,” he said. “Then I started taking fashion classes and made the switch. With architecture, realistically, it’s going to be 20 years until you have your name on something. Everything I was doing was just models, nothing real. Then I started making clothes. In a matter of hours or a couple of days, you have something made. I liked the immediacy of it, but it takes more than imagination to create apparel. It’s super technical,” he elaborated. “You definitely have to know how to make clothes before you can ask anyone else to make things for you, 100 percent.”

He added, “Kids have it really easy today because of the internet. The ones who are successful at young ages are the ones who are super curious. Really, that’s all you need now, because if you want to know something, you can get the answer to it. It’s literally at your fingertips. I had to scrape it together between bits and pieces I would see on MTV and magazines I would find in a newsstand; I still had a lot of bases to fill in with my own imagination.”

A Life Connection    
As a newly trained artist, Gabier took a hiatus from the windy city to live in Antwerp, Belgium. He explained, “When I graduated, there were no designers in New York I was really interested in working for, but there was a really good thing happening in Belgian fashion at the moment.”     

Upon his return to the United States in 2008, Gabier met Peters, also an Art Institute graduate, and the two founded Creatures of the Wind. Gabier spoke about the influence of the song “Wild Is the Wind” on the company.

“Many artists have covered it, including David Bowie and George Michael. What we liked about it is [that] the song, each incarnation of it, had its own individuality. Every individual who performed it did it in a different way, but we liked that it was always the same sort of sentiment. That’s how we wanted to approach the collection too, that each season, each collection, would be a different way of saying the same thing from an emotional or conceptual perspective.”

The artists soon began to earn fashion honors and recognition that continues today. Their brand has been listed as one of the industry’s top designer labels in Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 every year since 2013, and international travel is now par for the course for Gabier and Peters.

“I’m usually in Paris three to four times a year where the company takes a showroom space,” said Gabier. “Our business partner lives in Los Angeles, so we’re there six to 10 times a year. We also do various dinners or events with stores around the country, usually five or six a year. And we travel to Asia from time to time. A few years ago, we were doing a little collection of coats and having it produced in Japan, so we went there a couple of times.”

High fashion lies beyond the means of most women, but Gabier explained that each garment is special. “It’s all relative, but it’s not cheap. We’re making everything in the United States, and we make everything in a super responsible way, an ethical way, and that costs money. We know who’s doing our work, we know where the fabrics are coming from, we know how the fabrics are produced. But what’s more important to us is the people who are involved in making sure everything is done the right way. Most of our factories are a 10–minute walk from our studio [in New York City]. As much as we can, we’re trying not to ship things across oceans. For the work we’re producing, I’m proud of the level of attention and responsibility we’re putting into it.”

Creatures of the Wind is based in New York City due to the industry. Gabier noted, “The press is here, the factories are here, the stores come to buy in New York. The industry doesn’t really exist anywhere else in that same way [anywhere else] in the country.”

Yet Gabier was quick to point out that NYC is not necessarily right for all companies. “There are definitely fashion companies working in cities other than New York, but for us it made sense to be here because we’re producing here. But I wouldn’t say you can only be successful in New York; that’s not what I’m trying to say at all.”

The Constant Trajectory
COTW wholesales to major department stores and luxury boutiques throughout the world, and two shops currently display its designs in Grand Rapids. 

Gabier downplayed the notion that COTW’s recent successes might change his and Peters’ approach or perspective. “We’re still low to the ground. It’s a tight little group. We’re relatively conservative, so I wouldn’t say it’s changed anything for us.”

He clarified, “I’m not anywhere yet. It’s all relative. We’re not at the pinnacle of anything; there’s a long ways to go. I’m really happy about where I am, for sure. I can look at where I am now and where I was when I was 22 and I can obviously see the difference. But I still think it’s kind of a constant trajectory. It’s never over. It’s not like all of a sudden we’ve landed somewhere and this is where we’re going to be forever.”

Gabier is pleased to be running COTW with his partner. “It works out really well for us,” he said. “It involves a lot of communication, a lot of discussion and a lot of honesty. I prefer it, actually. And you know, it’s not just us; we’ve got like 10 people in our office,” he said.

Asked if he could offer spring style advice to readers, Gabier stayed true to his individualistic roots. “I make clothes,” he said. “I make what I make. I would never try to impose; it’s all very personal and individual.”

Collections can be viewed at creaturesofthewind.com.

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