Looking Good While Doing Good with Society Columnist Chuck Bennett

Denise Ilitch show

Denise talks to the Style Guru of Michigan, image expert, event planner and writer Chuck Bennett. He’s been dressing up and throwing parties since he was seven so it’s no surprise he chose a career as an event professional in the fashion industry. A true extrovert, not socializing during the pandemic was tough on him both personally and professionally. He’s very happy to be able to hug people again.

Chuck enjoys leveraging his celebrity to help others. Having recently returned from Paris Fashion Week, he’s energized to put together a project to help young people in Detroit who are interested in fashion. In France people would introduce him as the “King of Fashion.” So, he asked himself, “If I really am, how do I live up to that legacy?” It’s provided motivation for him to do something major for the local fashion community.

Even as a man who has spent decades in the limelight, Chuck admits sometimes he still gets nervous at a big event. There were times he felt insecure in his career. His advice? Remind yourself of who you are and be proud of being good at whatever you do. If there’s one party Chuck never accepts an invitation to—it’s a pity party.

Listen to learn how to avoid the most common fashion mistake. Actually, there are two!

Keep your ear to the ground to learn more about all the fun parties and events Chuck has in the works. As someone who remembers Detroit’s downtown Grand Prix, he would love to see more events like this in a city whose beauty shines from so many vantage points.

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Chuck Bennett is an award-winning lifestyle writer, event curator, in-demand media personality and one of the most called upon master of ceremonies in Metro Detroit. Considered nationally to be a trailblazer for being the only black man to pen a society column, Bennett writes Society Confidential a popular gossip column for the Detroit News. He is the Style Ambassador for Fox 2 Detroit. Bennett is a trustee for the Danialle Karmanos Work It Out nonprofit and has helped to raise millions of dollars for charities, including Detroit Meals on Wheels, Boys and Girls Club, the Rhonda Walker Foundation and The Horatio Williams Foundation. A graduate of Edwin Denby High School, Bennett earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and fashion merchandising and design from Wayne State University.

Denise Ilitch, an owner of Ilitch Family Companies and President of Ilitch Enterprises, has been a part of Detroit’s business and philanthropic community for over 40 years. As a mother, lawyer, entrepreneur, devoted community servant and tireless advocate for women and children, she learned early, from her father, that everyone is worthy of contributing to the world. Her passion for affordable, accessible, quality education stems from her own experience as a first-generation student, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where she currently serves on the Board of Regents, and a law degree from the University of Detroit Law School.

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