Painting Bags with F.E.C.

It was Andy Warhol who once (infamously) quipped, “Fashion is more art than art is.”

Inspired?
Debatable.

Provocative?
Certainly.

What cannot be debated is that fashion and art have long been intrinsically linked. I glimpsed this symbiotic relationship as a fashion kid who was painting, sculpting, and collaging throughout grade school, the two always hand in hand.

For the past five years, I have been painting leather bags (Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Mark Cross, Coach) for myself and for a handful of commissioning clients. What began as an exploration in reconnecting with my 17 year-old self, evolved into arriving at an interesting intersection of fashion and art.

I paint because I must. It is compulsion. I need to work with my hands. Most of my fashion designing unfolds in my mind. The cloth. The cut. The colors. The trimmings. I close my eyes and it all unfolds in front of me—I rarely sketch (designing menswear affords that luxury perhaps). I am at my most God-like when creating, designing, making this…universe. And in this universe, I am god and god is not satisfied…is not satiated. The universe must expand and painting is an expression of that.

Function. And yet form. Fashion. And yet art. Democratic. And yet luxurious.

Leather tote with handpainted lightning bolt motif.

If you have a vintage or new leather handbag, attaché, or duffle and would like to commission a painting, email me. Commissions start at $650.