Grant Whittaker isn’t one to shy away from vivid colors or statement pieces. Photo: Kyle Lieberman
Plymouth Magazine’s new Noteworthy contributor, Grant Whittaker, brings us seasonal picks and expert advice.
For Grant Whittaker, fashion has always felt like home. “I think my original fashion spark was my mother,” Whittaker says. “She was a housewife and would spend the morning cleaning. But by the time noon came, she’d be done cleaning, and she would emerge from getting ready. She was this very fashionable glamazon of a woman.” He says she taught him that clothes and presentation matter and that shopping could be fun.
Whittaker grew up in Heidelberg, Germany—his mom is German, and his dad is American—and focused seriously on dance as a teenager and young man. “Then I moved into producing hair and fashion shows,” he says. “I started doing styling for wardrobe, hair and makeup.”
He decided to pursue fashion and to explore the United States. “Chicago was my roots,” Whittaker says. He first landed there and worked on shows for Chicago’s Marshall Field’s and Minneapolis’s Dayton’s before deciding to make the Twin Cities his home in 2001. In the past couple of decades, Whittaker has launched Grant Whittaker Creative, his fashion consulting and production company, and had a hand in almost every runway production in the Metro—from working with Art in Bloom and Fashionopolis to Target and the Galleria.
Soon, the suburbs beckoned. “My husband and I bought our home in Plymouth in October of 2020,” Whittaker says. “We were the second owners of this home, and we kind of took over and glammed it up.”
Whittaker had his eye on Plymouth as an “accessible, trendy” burg. “There’s such an influx of things that people are talking about in Plymouth right now,” he says, mentioning The Fox and Pantry and Abella Aesthetics as two favorite newer businesses that are attracting both locals and neighbors. “It’s really great,” Whittaker says. “I’ve tried to immerse myself in being in Plymouth, especially when we’re working remotely and trying to find new ways to get out and meet people.”
Summer Styling
We asked Grant Whittaker to share some of his favorite trends this season. Try one (or more) of his picks for a put-together summer look.
Large Handbags: “These bigger bags are coming back,” Whittaker says. “They should really coordinate with your look and be a practical statement. And for a lot of people, a good bag is an everlasting purchase, especially when we’re really looking at sustainability.”
Well-Tailored Pants: “I like the streamlined waist of a tailored trouser,” he says. “It can be hard to find a good tailored pant but so worth it. And pants are practical.”
Green Hues: “This season, there are pastel and metallic greens. The iciness and mossy-ness of these greens are just so beautiful,” he says. “They also combine well with gold—we’re seeing a lot of green and gold together. White can become monotonous, so I’m trying to pick something different
as a staple.”
Grant Whittaker Creative
Facebook: Grant Whittaker
Instagram: @grantwcreative
