Lafayette's Eddie Granger shines in the Big Apple in more ways than one.
Lafayette's Eddie Granger shines in the Big Apple in more ways than one. By Amanda Bedgood
Friday, Nov. 1, 2013
Eddie Granger is an artist of a different color. The Lafayette native is impossible to pigeonhole. In fact, calling him an artist doesn't really give full vision to what he's doing and what he's done. Living now in NYC, the man with a degree in architecture from UL Lafayette is making a splash in the fashion world. It's one more way he's proof that hard work and creative vision are like a train barreling full-speed ahead.
"I can become a leader in the game," he says of his pursuits.
And while he is confident in his endeavors as a creative director at Howes + Baum, a killer men's clothing line, and his more literal works of art - murals, installations, paintings - he is at once humble. It's a tough combo to find. And one that serves him well in a city like New York where calling life fast is an understatement.
"Being from Louisiana has given me this very wholesome spiritual mindset - even in this hectic city," he says. "That's the blessing being from Louisiana - being engaging and humble and high-spirited and compassionate. I feel as though the culture has really moved me and made my work vibrant. Louisiana is such a colorful place."
Making things colorful is something Granger knows a thing or two about. He has created pieces from melting crayons that are as vivid as art comes to his murals that are a combination of color and angles for a look that's fresh, clean and forward-thinking. Looking ahead, with a strong foundation of his roots, is the way Granger seems to approach all of his art - from fashion to painting.
"I consider myself a sponge of society," he says.
And he makes a point to surround himself with positivity and people who are "cheerful" and have a quality spirit: "Someone who is happy or knowledgeable about many aspects of life."
"My work is not about people, but people inform how I see my work," he says. "When I'm happiest is when I'm picking up more knowledge and creating better concepts."
His concepts have garnered him attention in the brief time he's been in New York. He recently collaborated to create a piece of art from an MCM messenger bag - a high-end, fashion-forward accessories brand - and is currently working with an interior designer on a showroom for Elle Décor as part of Art Basel. Fashion, for an artist with the breadth and innate curiosity of Granger, begins to feel like a natural progression.
"Fashion has always been something I've wanted to know about. Not just ordinary fashion," he stresses, "but how a man can be masculine but wear things that are very progressive and fashiony."
He's bringing that vision to Howes + Baum with a kind of energy that is pure Granger. And in November his work can be found at a new exhibit in Berlin, Germany.
"I have all of this energy and inspiration," Granger says.
If his first 24 years are any indication, these are but the first strokes of a career in the creative not even Granger can envision.