I packed for Paris

As a Creative Director, I find Paris as a place where you can step outside of yourself, see possibilities. Just when you may get complacent, it shakes you up a bit. I remember when I traveled here with my former Marketing Director Emeka, may he rest in peace, it was his first time in Paris. Having coffee in the Marias one morning he said “I’ve never been in a place that truly makes me want to get dressed.” He didn’t mean labels, he meant that it was a place that truly rocked you to want to pull out of yourself your personal style. There’s a level of experimentation here that seems very comfortable. At ease, in a way that on the streets of any other country may not feel so.

And that makes me wonder, why Paris? Why don’t I push more in New York, the city where anyone can be anything?

When I pack, I know that I will always land in the right place, no matter where I land, as long as I have the pieces that are just me. Me in NYC, me in Georgia, wherever. But Paris always inspires me to make them a bit “more.” As a Creative Director, it sets up a conundrum - how much “you” do you put in to the styling of an item when you are showing it to a broader audience, and how much do you leave up to the imagination?

The Jacket, The Skirt, The Sweater, The Shoe

Because all these pieces on their own, they are great. Sure. But it’s what you can make them that expands their range. If I showed you olive oil, sugar and fresh ground flour you understand the possibilities, right? The analogy is solid. The same goes with what you invest in, what you pack.

When I packed this dress for the Abel launch party, I knew it would do it for me. For a night time event, it had that something that made it feel just…so…very….chic.

When we showed it in the collection, on line, it was important to me that it was more of a canvas for people to put their own paint on.

The dress, The Jacket, The Sandal

So I’m about to meet Traci, she just flew in this morning. And we are working on the Fall 2027 collection together - oddly I’ve been traveling so much that this is the most convenient place for us to meet up and get work done. But other than calendars, there’s a much more important reason for being here. Because it allows us to see the possibilities for everything we create.

Moving outside your geographic doesn’t necessitate an entirely new you. It just opens your eyes to the layers to your style personality that you can create. And it’s a reminder, to me, at home to find that energy to push there as well.

I am at a cafe writing this to me, and a woman just walked by in a slouchy grey oversized blazer and pant. But she’s wearing a giant green suede bag, just a tote really, and it is slung across her, but it’s turned to the back. I want to capture this feeling, in my way. I have work to do, I must get to the studio.