Michigan woman brings fashion to custom derby hats

(CBS DETROIT) – “My job is to compliment the outfit, not necessarily be the focal point,” said Rachelle Willnus, creator of Derby Hats by Rachelle.

When it comes to high fashion, Willnus gets down and derby.

“I make and create and design derby hats. I use quality materials, but it’s feathers and flowers and just an expression of femininity and fullness and glamour,” she said.

It’s a career path she fell into while helping her kids in theater.

“I realized that I loved it. Then, my husband and his brother won a huge package to the Kentucky Derby. He said, ‘You know, I can make my own hat. I’ve done costuming,’ and I loved it,” she said. “And I went to the Derby, got lots of compliments. People were saying, ‘Oh, can you make mine?’ And before you know it, I had a business. And now fast forward 15 years and I’m still doing this.”

To create such elaborate designs, Willnus imports her materials from countries like England, Australia and the Netherlands.

As diverse as her resources are her clientele, she often collaborates with different women to show that high fashion has no place for barriers.

“We wanted to do something where we showed different women of different cultures and how gorgeous they can be as models and that more designers should use women of color and different nationalities to showcase the style because these women sold my product,” she said.

“I think women in the age group 50-ish, of course, you look for what can you do later in life, you know, like we think at a certain age we’re done. And I would say I feel reinvented. I feel like I’m at a point where I can create a new interest for myself, and I’m self-actualized enough where I feel like this is an expression of me.”

Amyre Makupson

Amyre Makupson is a proud native of Detroit, Michigan. She is a graduate of Mercy High School in Farmington Hills.