BESPOKE: A DECADE OF HARLEM STYLE

Harlem Bespoke:  Has it been 10 years already?  Harlem Bespoke had the big anniversary this past spring and what started out as a stylish neighborhood blog with a designer's point of view has really become a record of everything new in a transforming Harlem.  Truth be told, the camera phones were not that good a decade ago so Bespoke fashion photography never quite took off.  Then about 5 years ago, the technology really got better and we do have quite of few photos of the dapper designer set.

Head adornment had been the trend up until recently and some of Harlem's most fashionable have made a statement over the years.  Chef Marcus Samuelson of Red Rooster fame became quite a peacock since opening his notable restaurant back in 2010 and has embraced a colorful wardrobe as of late.  Then there is dashing local mixologist Karl Franz of 67 Orange Street or Mark Williamson of Flamekeepers Hat Club who both always standout in the crowd.

We also document the arrival of pop-up retail with Sugar Hill Market and the influencer movement 5 years ago as both arrived in Harlem. Paola Mathé started out at Sugar Hill Market and has since become a major icon of the the Instagram movement and recently has modeled in campaigns for The Gap and Calvin Klein.  Taking photos of beautiful buildings, food or architecture have been a bit easier to do but all the great everyday models found uptown also make capturing fashion images quite natural even for the average iPhone photographer.

HarlemBespoke.com 2019