Fashion – Cleveland
Cleveland based fashion designer and prospective contestant of Rihanna’s reality show “Styled to Rock”, Donald “D” Hayes was born in Louisville, KY, raised in Virginia and relocated to Cleveland in 1995. In 2004 Hayes attended Virginia Marti College of Art & Design long enough to learn the basics of sewing and design.>
Since attending VMCAD Hayes has shown his work in numerous fashion shows throughout the Cleveland area, as well as at Atlanta Fashion Week and at Detroit’s WALK 5 Fashion Show hosted by America’s Next Top Model and newest face of Carol’s Daughter, Dominique Reighard.
Hayes designs have been featured on FOX 8 News, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Magazine, The Call & Post and recently one of his designs was worn by Grammy Award and two time Stellar Award-winner Le’Andria Johnson (winner of “Sunday’s Best” season 3) on the red carpet at the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Awards luncheon during the 2013 Stellar Awards weekend, in Nashville.
After faced with unemployment in 2011 Hayes did what every sane person would do an emptied out his retirement and opened his first clothing boutique carrying local designers and other Indie labels, CLOUD 9.
In 2012 Hayes opened a fashion based co-op called; Design Lab Inc. in the historic Torpedo Factory located on the west side of Cleveland. Hayes goal for Design Lab is to have it serve as an economic engine to help complimentary businesses thrive by utilizing each other’s resources, provide a home for creative individuals to collaborate