Colombian-born Michelle Harper (left) spent her formative years in New
York but credits her bold style to her grandparents. Her grandfather, an
architect, was an early champion of modernism who built a church in her
hometown, Barranquilla, and her grandmother taught the 7-year-old Harper
how to walk in high heels. “She’d put a book on my head and
send me up and down the stairs. As a kid, I’d go into her closet,
which was a glamour house of divinity, with Balenciaga and Dior.
I’d put on her pearls, one of her wigs, her Shalimar, a Balenciaga
cape, and heels. I mean, those getups as a kid were crazy.” Her
art dealer father, she notes, was also a wacky dresser: “He used
to buy me the wildest clothes, which made me the weirdest kid at
school.” These days Harper, a New York–based brand
consultant, prefers to dress intuitively. “I get a feeling, and
then a series of images pops into my mind, and then I just
pull—boom, boom, boom—and that’s it. People actually
sort of freak out when they see me get ready, because it’s so
fast.”
Oliver Goldsmith sunglasses; Betony Vernon sterling silver
neck brace and bracelet, and sterling silver bracelet with ostrich
feather attachment. Harper wears her own bra and briefs. house of
exposure helmut red lipstick.
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W
- Fashion
The Originals
For these muses, outliers, and eccentrics, getting dressed is an end in itself.
November 2012
Michelle Harper
November 2012
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