When asked about music and fashion at this years Grammy Awards Ceremony, Pharrell Williams mentioned how musicians are often the muses for fashion designers. I know this personally to be true. The converse is often true that musicians bring fashion to life with their songs and videos.  What a most potent example of the way that fashion and music are so closely related – the Grammy Award Show.

Every year E! hosts coverage of the Grammy Awards Red Carpet where the best musicians in the world arrive dressed in their best to receive the ultimate accolade in the music industry, a Grammy.  For years I have watched and yearned to have my designs walk the Grammy Awards Red Carpet.

It started when AMAX stylist Anna Redmon walked in my door one day in January.  She mentioned that her clients, John and TJ Osborne of the Country Duo, The Brothers Osborne had been nominated for their first Grammy Award following the release of their Single “Stay A Little Longer.” The song is awesome bottom line.

Anna asked if I would be interested in dressing them for this event. I replied that although I wanted to dress both of them, I wasn’t sure that time would allow me to create two looks in the given amount of time. She was admittedly pretty nervous that I would be able to follow through on my commitment which made me want to surprise her with success even more.  At this point in my career every stitch matters. My reputation is being tested daily and until I gain more momentum, there is no room for error.

Once we decided on a particular look. I began the hunt for fabrics. Sourcing is by far the most stressful part of my job and seems to be something for which I lack natural talents. I spent hours searching the web, emailing and calling fabric stores to find a particular plaid that probably doesn’t exist. Trying to find a certain fabric from a vintage suit is like searching for a particular star in the sky. As time grew short I consulted Anna beacuase she was particular with her choices upfront.  She asked that I gather a list of fabrics that would work into the given framework we had established. We ended up agreeing on my first choice – a very BOLD brown, black, tan and red plaid upholstery fabric, by Ralph Lauren. This would be the statement piece.

I drafted John’s pant, vest and jacket pattern and awaited the plaid fabrics arrival. In the meantime I carefully constructed the vest and trousers from a beautiful 1/2″ brown/black herringbone design with red speckles. These would serve as the base. Generally speaking, a waistcoat should fit like a girdle and fitted clothing looks much better in photographs. On the day of our first fitting, I knew there would be alterations to be completed as I tailored everything slightly larger to save my ass. Sure enough, the vest needed to be shortened and the pant legs came in considerably. With a week until our final fitting I was ready to get started on his jacket.

Plaid fabrics can be a bitch to deal with because of the fact that they need to match from front to back. Here’s the finished product featuring peak lapels, side vented back, ticket pocket, 5 button cuff and handmade buttonholes.

Minor alterations were needed and they were off to the Grammy’s!

What a studly pair! We watched the whole red carpet show and they were CERTAINLY among the best dressed, if not THE best!

Just one more before I dust my boots and call it a night…Look at that plaid!

After all I must say that it has been a dream come true to work with Anna and the Osborne brothers. I cannot thank her enough for this opportunity and although they didn’t win the Grammy for Best Country Duo, they definitely deserve it. Can’t wait to see what amazing music they will create in the future!

Check out their website and follow them on social media @brothersosborne and BUY their new album Pawn Shop!

P.S. Check out this awesome video from the Grammy Red Carpet recorded by Nashville’s Taste of Country. So cool they gave us a shoutout!