Black Picasso
Black Picasso is the label of Boston painter and designer Hakim Waters, who carries the duality and fractured faces of his cubism-inspired canvases onto hand-finished leather jackets, tees, and hoodies. Named one of Boston’s best visual artists by The Improper Bostonian in 2018, Waters has collaborated with historic Massachusetts motorcycle-jacket maker Vanson Leathers on limited-edition painted leathers.
Profile
Black PicassoThe practice is painter-first: each leather piece is finished by hand, which makes the garments closer to canvases with sleeves than to production runs — the fractured, double-faced figures of his paintings carried directly onto the back panel of a jacket. The Vanson partnership grounds that art practice in serious hardware, pairing his brushwork with one of America’s storied motorcycle-jacket makers.
Waters opens The Bureau’s Paris program in The Opening at Espace Cléry on October 2 — the first look of the first of five public shows across the October 2–3 weekend, and a fitting overture: wearable art, made one piece at a time.
Paris Fashion Week SS27
1 showEvent access
See Black Picasso live
Black Picasso shows at Paris Fashion Week SS27 on October 2, 2026 at Espace Cléry. Leave your email for access details and ticket alerts from The Bureau.
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