The Detroit Fashion Incubator - in a wildly ambitious endeavor - aims to create, support and promote a fashion industry in the Detroit metropolitan area. Born from the mind of Michael Delon, the goal is to create an economic and artistic aid to encourage legitimate competition in the national and international fashion markets.

The DFI will most likely take the place of the Pure Detroit Design Lab, which achieved minimal yet effective support for new and upcoming designers. The Detroit fashion community is a small one, but the Design Lab motivated local design shops and an eager clientele.

Nevertheless, the DFI's grand opening came with much anticipation on Dec. 1, but left much to be desired. The Design Lab's storefront on Congress - an accessible and widely visible location - has given way to a standalone brick building at 4737 Grand River Ave., a good five minutes from the downtown area. The building's outdoor lighting and Chelsea-esque wall graffiti are initially appealing, but the store inside wavers between avant-garde fashion and rough-around-the-edges amateurism.

Not to seem gloomy, but it's going to take more than a single organization to boost the failing economy and general lack of interest in the Detroit fashion scene. But if all goes well, the DFI could potentially inspire the rest of the city to follow suit. There's little doubt that the DFI can maintain what Detroit already has to offer, but whether it will succeed in its attempts to elevate the local fashion industry's status worldwide has yet to be determined.

To support the DFI and local high-fashion designers, mark your calendars this weekend for the annual "Fashion Party," which was first launched in 1999 and takes place Dec. 8 through 10 this year. Garnering as many as 5,000 attendees in past years, the event typically draws a diverse audience for three nights of partying, runway shows and cutting-edge garment sales downtown. For more information, check out their website at www.detroitfashionincubator.com.

Caroline Hartmann