Fay is a high priestess of thinking for oneself. She is about as far out of the box as possible, while maintaining the most impeccable and original taste. “I want to have a return to clothing that speaks for itself,” she says. “With technology, we are losing our primitive instincts and our ability to communicate. Clothing is a vehicle for inspiration and conversation. Now, we just put it on Facebook and call it a day.” Fay’s favorite activity is “taking her clothes out for a walk,” and making her whole outfit the perfect expression of her mood, including her makeup, which can be anything from blue blush to feathered eyelashes. Fay is fashion royalty in her hometown of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, but she would be equally adored in Paris, London, or anywhere. Dressing is a “tangible representation of the fantasy from within” for her, and she is a commanding vision in a scarf with feathers (of her own design) that drape under a rounded top hat or a Moschino take on a bright Mexican floral fringed skirt (that was a discarded hand-me-down) and two layers of colorful and patterned tights. Fay is an artist in her own right, but can also be summed up by her multifaceted and very educated range of references.

In every outfit, one can detect the nobility of John Singer Sargent, the provocativeness of Salvador Dali, the anarchism of Dadaism, the indigeny of the Berbers, the drama of the Victorian (Fay loves anything that trails behind her), the high style of Serge Lutens, the classicism of Tallulah Bankhead, the eccentricity of Westwood, the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, and the powerful femininity of John Galliano’s designs. She is so visionary in the precision with which she paints her own canvas that she prefers white on black to black on white and she cuts pants to make them half-pants/half-skirts because of the paramount, billowy silhouette and illusion of eveningwear that is created. Fay’s North African masterfully beaded neckpiece has the profundity of a Rabbi’s tallit, which is no accident. I would pay attention: “Human-to-human interaction is dwindling,” and only invest in pieces that make everything look better.

If you like Fay, you might also enjoy Beatrix Ost or Malcolm Harris.