Siana Treece Designs ‘The Perfect’ Nude Dress

As a Black woman, the most daunting shopping task is to look for the perfect nude dress to match my dark complexion. It’s no secret that the beauty industry seems to cater to Eurocentric styles, shapes and shades. Until recently, it was even more difficult searching for the correct foundations and undertones (shout out to Fenty Beauty).

So, when I heard Siana Treece, Detroit-based designer, was launching a nude bodycon line, The Nude Collection, I thought, finally, representation. “This collection was inspired by the perfect nude dress,” Treece says during our video interview.

“I like to take things that are everyday staples and put my spin and edge on it to take it to the next level. I wanted this perfect nude dress to be for everybody.” The Nude Collection includes six bodycon dresses, each are named after iconic Black women such as the Dandridge, the Serena and the Michelle – to name a few. 

Each dress is made of satin stretch fabric with body contouring seams, engineered with a light-weight compression lining. As expected, each piece comfortably hugs and compliments all body types and skin tones, and ranges from XS to 3X with midi and mini lengths.

“We all have our own different skin tones, and there are so many shades of nude,” Treece says. “It’s a little bit harder finding sexy dresses in deeper shades, so I just wanted to solve that problem.”

This collection comes after years of study and creation, she says. “I consider myself an artist first. I started doing illustration and drawing, and after that, I progressed into getting into design and then into creating clothes.” After graduating from Cass Technical High School, Treece continued her studies as a fashion design major at The Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago.

“I lived in Chicago for a little while after school, and I developed an idea of my line there,” she says. “When I moved back to Detroit it was around 2013. I began to take on clients and work professionally.”

She says Detroit was where she first began showing her collection to large audiences. “My first fashion show was in 2011, and it was Detroit Rocks the Runway at the African World Festival,” she recalls. “It was my first show ever, and it was a competition. I came in second place. Even though I didn’t win, that was still a big deal for me because I had never been in a show. I had never really made things outside of school projects, so for me, that was encouragement to keep going with it – and I’ve been designing since then.”

I first noticed Treece’s illuminating, edgy designs when I eyed one of her gemstone jean jackets on Ryan Destiny in Big Sean’s “Single Again” video. “That was really cool actually,” says Treece. “Me and Sean graduated high school together, so to be a part of his video was kind of like a full-circle moment. I’m so proud of him, and I’m sure Detroiters are proud of him. It was such a blessing. People really like that jacket, and I was so happy that it was out there in such a big way.”

After eyeing that piece on Destiny, I must admit, I dove through Treece’s entire portfolio, which ranges from sheer, rhinestone-encrusted ballgowns to puffed-sleeve, bare-shoulder leotards. Treece just has a particular style. She takes on traditional looks and reinvents them with her own eclectic appeal. That and the fact that she’s a Detroiter hooked me.

“I definitely get inspiration from Detroit,” she says. “I consider my style to be a kind of grit and glamour. I like really glamorous things and my clients come to me for those special occasions, birthday parties, prom and graduation. My style also has a lot of edge to it – a little twist, a little sexiness. I attribute that to Detroit.”

Treece says, “I really hope people appreciate this collection and really understand my vision behind this. And most of all, I hope that this solves the problem for all my melanated sisters out there that need that option. I hope people love it as much as I do.”