N
ina Brewster is attempting to revolutionize glitter. If you see her on campus, she’s most likely wearing something simple, chic, and black. Her style doesn’t exactly exude the girly, over-the-top aesthetic that is typically synonymous with glitter, yet her clothing line, Glytr, is seeking to rebrand the youthful, hyper-feminine medium by utilizing it in an edgy, contemporary way. Her idea was born last summer in Paris after she stumbled into an art store one afternoon and discovered sheets of ironon glitter. She was so giddy about this purchase that she spent the remainder of the day holed up in her hotel room, cutting out different shapes and “glitterizing” every article of clothing she had brought from home. “All I had to wear were these clothes that I had ruined with glitter designs,” Brewster admitted. After reinventing her entire wardrobe, she began buying new articles of clothing to glitterize. She received especially positive feedback on a pair of white canvas sneakers she had bought just to deck out in H&M glitter nail polish. Soon the requests for personalized glitter apparel began pouring in, which prompted her to start selling customized pieces. “It was really informal
and I had no idea what I was doing, but people would buy it,” Brewster said. She was especially motivated by one of her mom’s close friends, who insisted that Brewster pursue this as an enterprise after designing a purse featuring glittered initials. Her infatuation with glitter began last year through a photo series where she would photograph her subjects drenched in glitter. “I would pour glitter all over their faces,” Brewster said. “That was very much an inspiration for the clothing I have made.” Since her various waves of inspiration, Brewster’s line has evolved into a legitimate online business known as Glytr. While the majority of her clientele consists of friends and UM students, she is beginning to receive orders from customers across the country. Her website currently features sweatshirts depicting glitter emojis, slogans such as “Glitter is my Prozac,” and more. During UM’s football season she also created personalized tailgate apparel. Beyond single-handedly creating her own fashion line and manufacturing every piece by hand, Nina has also been 10