Darryl Humes, Jr.: Detroit’s Lifestyle Clothier

“It’s almost like my business card. At some point, maybe in my late 20s, I truly understood what style was. I learned that it’s communication. It’s actually a language. You need to be able to communicate without saying anything.”

Stylemaker Darryl Humes, Jr.

He, along with his brother DeKoven Humes, own and run the Detroit-based clothier Mature. It’s a brand that culminates how the brothers understand style and the grace and elegance passed to them by their grandmother and father. “I think our family, in particular my dad, really was heavily invested in just making sure that we presented ourselves in the right way,” Darryl narrates his experience growing up with a family that understood dressing is more than just about looking good. “Making sure [we] look the part, my dad really planted this seed in us early. In some ways he watered it, in some ways we took it to the next level.”

It wasn’t just their father who built them into the stylish and fashionable gentlemen they are now. “Our grandma used to own a store, growing up in the city of Detroit, and she served people with grace and kindness and she’s a fashionable person,” he adds. “So we had a lot of family members who really modeled what fashion and style looked like and we just gravitated.”

Humes believes in creating long-term relationships. Only by knowing their client’s tastes, and how they want to present themselves can Mature add more value into the lives of their clients. “You don’t have to look at clothing before we start asking questions,” he explains their business philosophy. “We start with asking questions, understand our client, what their needs are, and then ultimately we find solutions.” It’s this emphasis on being a personal curator for their clients that sets their business apart in the industry. “We’re going to understand their family. We’re going to understand their needs. We also tell them ‘no’ on certain things. We’re also excited when they just come in and say ‘hello,’ and walk right out without a bag.” They want every person who comes into their store to feel recognized as a unique individual. “[When] you walk into Mature … you’ll feel intimacy. You’ll feel that people actually care and are invested in how you look, what you do, how you present yourself and where you’re going.”

Darryl and his brother bring with them their grandmother’s signature style: grace and kindness. The two established a youth initiative, named Suited for the Future, in 2020. “It is an initiative that highlights young men that are doing well in the classroom, and in the community, with character,” he describes the program.

“We highlight five men every year. And we not only give them a suit, but we also host a dinner for their family and friends, and we connect them with career professionals. We always wanted to be a non-traditional retailer. We wanted to just pour back into our community AND reinvest into our community.”

2022 Stylemaker Darryl Humes.