Mark Keller has been predicting the future of fashion for six decades, though he’ll correct you if you call him a trendsetter. “I don’t follow trends,” he says. “I identify what’s next.”
At 75, this “OG” of retail fashion in Birmingham continues to prove that being different isn’t just profitable — it’s prophetic.
The story began in 1961 when a 14-year-old Keller talked his way into a job at Clothes Rak in Oak Park. “I worked for Joe and Eleanor Dorfman,” he says, “who taught me about customer service and how to take care of people” — one of his nuanced abilities that has had loyal customers following him his entire career. Even then, he was the kid who convinced his bosses to stock bell bottoms before anyone knew what they were. It was the first sign of a natural ability to spot cultural shifts before they happened.
After graduating from Wayne State with a teaching degree he’d never use, Keller found his calling managing seven Pant Station stores — owned by Sid Moss — across Michigan.
But his real breakthrough came on Sept. 25, 1975, when he opened Mark Keller on Birmingham’s Maple Road — waiting ’til two days after his birthday because he had tickets to see Bruce Springsteen (who shares Keller’s exact birthday) for his first-ever Michigan show. The timing was perfect: Detroit was starving for something different.
What followed was pure fashion alchemy. Keller became the first to bring Eileen Fisher, Suzen, Ghost, Stussy, Marithe + Francois Girbaud, Hard Candy and more to Detroit, transforming his store into a destination for anyone seeking sartorial salvation. Elton John and Billy Crystal shopped there. Members of Procol Harum, Bob Seger and the Doobie Brothers frequented his stores. A young John Varvatos learned what “cool” meant within those walls.
“When I bought those things for my store, it was different. It was against the grain of mainstream,” Keller says. His network of fellow fashion rebels stretched across the country — including a friend named Dick Hayne, who called to seek Keller’s opinion on a wholesale line that would become Urban Outfitters. Others in his circle launched Lucky Jeans and CP Shades. With his wife, Helaine, running Michigan’s first aerobics studio (Fitnesse, also in Birmingham), they were the undisputed “king and queen” of local cool.
The store was extremely successful, as were its offshoots, West End, Basic Goods, Lilith and Mark Keller 130A (housed in a refurbished horse barn in Downtown Birmingham). In 2000, at a New York trade show, he met three women from Reykjavik who’d just launched ELM Design. “All they made were sweaters,” he says. “I said, ’I’ll buy some sweaters and see what happens.’”
What happened was magic. Keller convinced them to work with Pima Cotton Jersey in Peru, got them a booth at curated trade show The Coterie in New York, and opened 45 accounts for the new company. “They thought I was a genius,“ he says.
For a decade, he traveled to Iceland twice yearly as the collection grew, until the partnership evolved into something more focused: MATTHILDUR, with designer Matthildur Halldorsdottir. “She’s like a sister to me,” he says.
MATTHILDUR combines a casual Japanese aesthetic with easy-to-wear, timeless designs in unique fabrications from Peru, like Pima Cotton, Tanguis Cotton and sweaters in Alpaca and Cotton. With an emphasis on “classics with a twist” and listening to the needs of the customer, MATTHILDUR has developed a devoted, artistic international community.
Keller also created M x MATTHILDUR, born out of the need to satisfy the aspirational MATTHILDUR customer with the same brilliant designs at a more comfortable price.
Both collections are housed in his new brick-and-mortar shop on Old Woodward in Birmingham, where Keller continues his mission of making women feel extraordinary.The two divisions serve 100-150 stores, while his secret weapon remains unchanged: an almost mystical understanding of what makes women feel and look confident.
Articulate, thoughtful and passionate — about music, social justice, family (his “greatest accomplishment“) and humanity — with a dry wit that has a way of making people feel fortunate to be in on the joke with him, Keller has an eye for design that is in his DNA.
From the opening of his original Mark Keller, when he brought not just designs but an attitude that was missing from the local landscape, to “fast forward 50 years,“ Keller says, “there’s still a need for that woman to wear something that makes her feel special and “seen.”
“Matthildur is an alternative to the same old thing. Not by any means radical — everything we do is tasteful and timeless. We use beautiful fabrics and our designs are exceptional,” he says. “Our clothing is not governed by trends, because our customers have great style,” he says. “Our customer is a woman who doesn’t care if she’s wearing tight clothes or loose clothes, as long as they look good on her and she doesn’t look like everyone else.”
Many MATTHILDUR customers have been shopping with Keller for those 50 years, and he gains new customers all the time — not only because of the designs, but also because of his personalized service, something lacking in fashion today.
“I always keep in mind that the woman who is shopping wants the most interesting and best product available — along with impeccable service,” he says. “The shopping experience must be pleasant and enjoyable, while at the same time, engaging with the customer to learn their wants and needs.”
Keller, whose own style can be described as “vintage Americana with a dose of hippy” (think Double RL, Japanese brand Engineered Garments, old and patched jeans and Supervinyl t-shirts), says that beyond his family, the thing that gives him the most joy is “making women feel and look great,” he says. “There’s nothing better than when a woman comes in and buys clothes and she feels great. It’s even better when they tell me about items they bought years ago and still wear. My customers have confidence in the way we put them together — and they want to present that and be seen that way.
“Everybody wants to be seen, at any age. They are not invisible. If they walk down a street or go out to dinner, somebody’s gonna look and reaffirm how good they look,” Keller says. “That’s the most gratifying part of my business.”
To celebrate 50 years as a fashion benchmark — and the customers who’ve helped get him there — Mark Keller is planning anniversary festivities Sept. 26-27. For details, visit @matthildurxmarkkeller; matthildur.com.