Alumna builds brand around connection

WSU alumna Brooklynn Jackson models an outfit from her FormFit fashion line, which she created and grew while a student at WSU.

When Brooklynn Jackson launched her activewear company during her first semester at Wayne State University, she didn't have a detailed business plan or years of marketing experience.

She did, however, understand her prospective customers - because she was one of them.

It was fall 2020, and activewear and loungewear had become staples of Jackson's wardrobe. Between school, errands and a COVID-19 pandemic that made comfortable clothing ubiquitous, she was regularly buying two-piece sets and other casual apparel online.

Jackson said the popularity of FormFit apparel helped create a community drawn to the brand's advertising, storytelling and aesthetic.

Eventually, she had a thought: If she was spending so much money buying clothes, why not try selling them?

"Going to school just made me realize nothing is by chance, and everything is premeditated when you think about marketing and branding," Jackson said. "A lot of intention has to go behind it."

That idea became FormFit, a business Jackson built while earning a degree in business marketing at Wayne State.

Her first release consisted of just four outfits. She promoted them on X (formerly Twitter), where the launch went viral and generated about 200 orders. For roughly the next year and a half, subsequent product drops could bring another 50 or 60 orders at a time.

As the world returned to normal and sales began to slow, Jackson leveraged her Wayne State education to better understand the business she'd initially built largely on instinct. She began to decipher why FormFit had succeeded initially and how to parlay that into a sustainable brand.

At the same time, Jackson noticed that the brand had an impact beyond sales. Even when customers didn't buy clothes, they remained interested in FormFit's advertising, storytelling and aesthetic.

Jackson had built more than a clothing line. She had built a community.

From clothing brand to fashion shows

That community would change the direction of Jackson's business.

Around 2021, she decided to organize a fashion show to promote FormFit. Other Detroit-area designers and vendors heard about the event and wanted to participate.

About 200 people attended the first show, and Jackson watched small entrepreneurs who were still trying to establish themselves sell their products - some even selling out.

Her fashion shows "sparked something in my eyes like, 'Oh, this was bigger than me,'" said Jackson, who works with as many as 20 designers at a time during the events.

"I realized I enjoyed putting together the fashion shows," Jackson said. "It sparked something in my eyes like, 'Oh, this was bigger than me.'"

So she did another show, which drew about 350 people. Another attracted roughly 600.

As audiences grew, so did the venues. Jackson has since staged events at such popular locations as the Masonic Temple, Huntington Place, the Westin Book Cadillac and even the Royal Oak Farmers Market. Her largest event attracted about 900 guests.

The shows also have become increasingly collaborative. Jackson said she may work with as many as 20 designers on an individual show and estimates she has featured more than 100 designers overall. Larger events can include vendor marketplaces with 60 to 80 businesses.

Jackson's corporate collaborations have helped her fashion shows grow to include as many as 900 guests and vendor marketplaces that feature up to 80 businesses.

Those relationships aren't merely about filling a runway or marketplace; they're now an integral part of Jackson's business model.

Producing fashion shows can be expensive, she said, and even a well-attended event might only break even. Jackson has built relationships in which businesses sponsor portions of events, exchange servicesand provide resources to one another. Those partnerships have thrown open doors to new venues and audiences, including an Aug. 1 show organized with an Audi dealership in Rochester Hills.

"That's what's beautiful about the community that I've created," Jackson said. "Everybody is willing to help each other. It's not just me benefiting from the designers or the vendors benefiting from me. We're all able to come together, share resources and create opportunities that we probably wouldn't have had individually."

Building what's next

Jackson graduated from Wayne State in 2025 with a bachelor's in business marketing. After spending about two years working in marketing at a Detroit casino, she left shortly after graduation to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

It wasn't simply a financial decision.

Jackson translated the early success of her clothing line to launch a series of high-end fashion shows at noted Detroit venues such as the Huntington Place convention center.

"I felt like I could be putting my time and energy into my own things," she said. "This is what I want to do, so I have to sacrifice to do it."

Now Jackson is looking for ways to bring the different pieces of her entrepreneurial experience together.

She is developing the FormFit Forum, envisioned as a workforce and economic development platform that will connect emerging creatives and entrepreneurs with opportunities to generate income and access services such as graphic design, website development and marketing consultation.

It's a natural progression for someone who started college selling activewear and gradually discovered that one of her greatest strengths was connecting people.

That philosophy has extended into community service. Jackson recently helped organize a back-to-school giveaway that served about 300 children, while an entrepreneur expo she organized last year offered free business resources to the community.

"I just personally love being a person who connects people to the things that they need," Jackson said. "That's what fulfills me, is helping people get that connection or getting that opportunity and having it work out."

Jackson credited her WSU education for her fast start in the fashion world: "Without what I learned at Wayne State, I don't think I would've been able to advance as far as quickly."

The evolution of FormFit reflects an entrepreneurial education that unfolded both inside and outside Wayne State's classrooms, she said. She arrived with an instinct for identifying an audience and generating excitement. Her coursework helped her better understand the strategy behind those instincts - and how to apply them more deliberately.

"Without what I learned at Wayne State, I don't think I would've been able to advance as far as quickly," said Jackson, who is also flirting with the idea of becoming an attorney.

Wherever her career goes next, she believes that her WSU experience has readied her for new challenges.

"Whether I do continue to go down the fashion route, community route, or if I do go to law school," Jackson said, "I think I'll be prepared for whichever direction I want to take."