“Personal expression.” That is how Detroit-based fashion designer, Kelly Lynne Sager describes what fashion means to her.

Sager’s unique designs are inspired by the world around her. “I try and keep my eyes open around me as I move through life.” Fashion is obviously a very big part of her life, especially considering her 55-plus hour workweek. Sager began to answer her fashion calling in her early twenties.

Sager first started designing clothes because she could never find clothes she liked in stores, and hated occasionally seeing people in the same clothes that she was. What started out as a hobby, eventually turned into a serious passion for design. In 2007, Sager went to The Fashion Institute of Technology, located in New York City, to get a degree in fashion design.

After finishing school in New York, Sager moved back to Detroit to pursue her fashion career.

In March 2010, Sager premiered her very first fashion show. She described the day as one of the best days of her life. “It was absolutely amazing. The amount of support and help I had from everyone around me was just incredible and overwhelming … Everyone was so supportive and encouraging and the show turned out just fabulous because of that,” she said.

Sager’s talent doesn’t end with pattern-making and unique designs. Although she is a successful designer, she still had to raise the funds to pay for her 2010 fashion show. Through these experiences, she’s taught herself to be resourceful. “I dyed a bed-sheet with beets and tea,” said Sager. “Then, I cut it up and made a beautiful dress … I can literally work with anything if I have to, and no one would know I didn’t spend $300 on the fabric.”

“My 2010 collection was inspired by the clash between nature and destruction,” said Sager.  When Sager moved back to Detroit after living in New York, the destruction and decay that has plagued Detroit inspired her. In her collection, she “had a lot of recycled fabrics – deep greens mixed with bronze metallics and lots and lots of black.” Her collection and style give off a dark and unique vibe, while still retaining the beauty that professional design needs.

Her achievements don’t stop at a budding Detroit fashion designer, though. “I was one of the few to be selected to be in the F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) senior student design exhibition, which was open to the public of New York during my last year at F.I.T.,” Sager said. Her designs have also appeared in many fashion magazines, including 944 magazine, Styleline magazine and Shei magazine. She has many accomplishments as a designer, and they continue to grow.

“It’s not like a regular job because it literally becomes your life. I don’t go home at 5 p.m. and stop being a designer,” Sager said. “Generally I start the week by looking over my sketches and compare them to what I have completed and figure out where I need to be by the collection deadline. If I have all the supplies I need, I will finish up a design I have been working on, or start a new one. I typically go to the fabric stores once or twice every week. I spend about 5 hours a day designing and doing marketing for Versatile Corsets – which is a company I work for and collaborate with remotely (they are based in California.) and about 6 hours a day working on my own collection.”

Sager currently does not have a store open, however she does plan on opening one in the future. She hopes to open a store where all of the local fashion designers in Michigan can sell their clothing. “It’s a collaborative effort that I need and desire, and right now there isn’t enough interest. I do see it happening in a few years though,” Sager explains. For now, she has an Etsy shop and sells through UStrendy.

From Sager’s very first article of clothing, a multi-layer sundress, to her upcoming professional 2011 collection, Sager has been inspired by the world around her. “I take inspiration from everything! I try and keep my eyes open around me as I move through life. That way you have no restrictions on what can inspire you at any moment,” Sager said.

Sager’s 2011 fashion show is on May 21th, at 9:00pm sharp, with doors opening at 8:00pm. It is located on Okrut, MI. Click here to visit her Etsy shop, and here to visit her UStrendy website.