You don’t usually find fashion and farming in the same place, however Iowa may soon be the focal point of a new national fashion trend.

“It’s not too far off to think that Des Moines could become trendy,” said Michael Draper, Des Moines-based fashion designer and creator of Desmoinesvintage.com.

“There’s real curiosity about Des Moines around the country. No one’s quite sure where it is, or what goes on there, but they think they have a cousin who might live there.”

Draper’s Web site has been gaining national recognition for its clothing slogans, and he is currently looking for national distributors interested in carrying his products. The spotlight on his fashions has surprised Draper, who said he never imagined he would end up as a successful fashion designer.

Draper’s fashion experience started when he attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with a friend to make T-shirts that read “Not Penn State” as a joke about the confusion people had between Pennsylvania and Penn State.

The T-shirts were a big hit and gave Draper’s friend the idea to start a T-shirt company. The pair increased production by having a friend in Des Moines screen print the shirts and ship them to Pennsylvania.

As the business became more serious, they decided they would need a production space and Draper, who is originally from Van Meter, came back to Des Moines last February to continue the T-shirt company. He said it was challenging starting out, but has received help from numerous people.

“Once you are put in the position of not having a lot of money, you exhaust all of your personal contacts,” Draper said.

Businesses around Des Moines helped him through the rough times, donating antique silk screens for the cause.

“I didn’t even advertise,” he said. “People saw the Web site and just gave me the silk screens.”

Draper did a lot of the work on the space himself, including the drywall, to save money. He found he had to do some improvising with what he had to work with.

“Anything is possible – you just have to be a little creative when you don’t have as much money,” he said.

Draper had to learn to screen print, use Photoshop, do Web design and start a company on his own. Justin Meyer, a freelance Web designer who helps Draper with his Web site, said Draper’s success came because of simplicity.

“A lot of other small retail stores get outside of their niche, but Michael [Draper] hasn’t,” Meyer said.

Draper’s space, which was originally intended to be used for production only, has since evolved into a clothing store named SMASH, located in Des Moines. To give it an “Iowa feel,” Draper has decorated the walls of SMASH with artwork made by high school students from around the area, including Ames High School.

Draper said he believes the market is more limited in Des Moines, but likes it because he can have more of an impact. Draper thinks all Iowans could strike a pose.

“There’s only 3 million of us, but we’re damn good looking,” he said.