The Hand Painted Suit.

I went to Lincoln Center yesterday for a fashion show, and I was lucky enough to meet Shail Upadhya, of Bill Cunningham New York fame –if you haven’t seen that documentary yet, RENT IT. Its amazing and its on Apple TV. Go NOW!

Anyway, Shail is a retired U.N. official from Nepal who wears brightly colored suits, jackets made of drapery, vintage fabrics, homages to artists, with matching newsboy caps and sneakers…often all at the same time. And he models several of his best looks in the film.

This particular outfit was made by his tailor, and then he painted it, head to toe. We hit it off, obviously, and he asked me to paint a blazer for him. Oh hell yeah! I would be HONORED if someone, anyone, would want to wear something I made on their body. And that’s really what fashion is about, right? Is there anything greater than making something that  another human being will appreciate so much they will wear it on their body? Or anything as great as creating a room people will live in, raise kids in, sleep in and eat in? Or a painting that will greet another human being when they get home everyday? Or designing an object that will make people’s lives better?  Clothes and rooms and art and food can be more than just things to keep us warm, and full and covered from the storm. And thats what its all about… for me at least.

Now I have to say, so many people in the tents are dressed like fashion clowns who reek of cheap/ugly and trying too hard. To me, fashion isn’t about wearing the most glaringly hideous thing you can find in the hopes that someone takes your picture. BUT, I qualify this statement by saying, when its genuine, and sincere, like it is in Shail’s case, it’s alarmingly beautiful to see in person. You can totally FEEL the difference between the people who FEEL fashion and embrace it as an art form and the people who are just trying to get someone to take their picture. You really can.

You can see an entire album of his looks HERE. Check it out, its really worth a look!

More from NYFW coming later. Have a great day! Oh WAIT- its Valentine’s Day! Was I supposed to write a pretend post wishing you all a Happy Valentine? Oh, yea… ok Happy Valentine’s Day!