Parties during SF Art Week are as much for gawking at the art people wear as the art that’s for sale on gallery walls. At the chic parties thrown for buyers, ball gowns and sophistication rule the night. But San Francisco’s art scene is driven by the young, broke, and passionate. I wanted to be where the local artists were playing and celebrating. And I wanted to see what they were wearing to do it.
I found the answer on full display at Minnesota Street Project’s soiree and Strike-Slip’s industry night, where working artists showed up in styles that reflected the eclecticism San Francisco is known for.
A block before I reached the glass walls of Strike-Slip Gallery at 14th and Guerrero, I could hear the buzz of the party. Music. Laughter. The plonk of plastic wine glasses cheers-ing. As I approached, I saw a group of women wearing matching tall boots tumble out of an Uber to join the pretty mess.
The primarily young, artsy crowd was the kind that you know will bum you a cigarette. Stepping into the gallery, I was struck by the sheer amount of denim-on-denim-on-denim. When I asked people here what they “do,” they answered with elaborate hyphenates: Leather worker–business owner. Nail tech–social media manager. Owner of design studio–light artist. Marketing manager–vintage seller. Furniture artisan–musician. And their clothing was as multifaceted as their job titles.
Deconstructed office clothes paired with sweatshirts blurred the boundary between polished and disheveled. Other binaries were playfully disrupted: feminine and masculine, simple and eclectic, utilitarian and extra. I saw clothes that had been torn up just to be put back together. There were Burning Man people and their big sparkly or fur coats peppered in. I saw a dress held together with safety pins and a bag made of bottle tabs. Many were sourced from local vintage shops, while others were from local designers, and most came with a story.
Artist Eunnuri Lee gushed over local designer Joey Ehren, who had created a cascading dress of frill and bow. “I do also model. But only for this brand,” she said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. The vibe was significantly more casual than at Art Week’s headlining events, FOG and ICA, but the fashion was deliberate. This is the type of style that is thoughtful in the details, like the brown shoes that matched the crossbody bag and nothing else. Or the red skirt subtly matched to a red lip.
The brisk night demanded at least one layer, which people used to their advantage. Leather jackets abounded — the more untraditional the color, the better. Textures were varied and multilayered: leather mixed with wool and lace and denim with linen. These outfits made me want to reach out and touch.
Though huge bags are having their moment in the daytime, impractically small ones are still the rage for a night out. I noted many with charms (à la Jane Birkin), a trend that was propelled into the mainstream via TikTok last year. The charm-ing practice serves as a low-cost way to add personal meaning and touch to common items.
When I met artist and holistic wellness practitioner Deni Slehiman between gallery rooms at Minnesota Street Project’s party, she described feeling honored to wear Mexican designer David Miguel Herrera’s earrings made of wire, depicting a human head.
For performance artist/fashion designer Eluterio Lopez, dressing up during SF Art Week is a way to become a walking billboard. I ran into him at two parties, and both times he was dressed head to toe in his own designs. His chrome jackets and bags are painted with thick brush strokes of intentionally messy eyes and hearts.
Handmade, hand-painted, or hand-picked fashion is obviously in. Mass-produced fast fashion and designer-for-status are OUT. People want what no one else has—and honestly, so do I. Dressing for these parties was exhausting and fun. My favorite looks always include my full-length, vintage orange coat, which earned compliments from people in the “high” and “low” art scenes alike. My closet was torn apart by the end of the week. But it was worth it.