If you’re looking for an Adam Biga original, you’d best go straight to the source.
While men and women from Nashville to New York are sporting the designer’s originals, they’re not in any store windows yet. And if he has his way, they won’t be popping up in any venues except his own.
“I like to think that I work almost like I’m creating art, putting the time and effort into being creative with each piece,” Biga said. “If I’m making one item for someone, that makes it special; if it’s five of the same thing, then it’s not as exclusive. If that means I’m never mass marketed, then I’m okay with that.”
He knows of what he speaks. After making the top 25 for “Project Runway” two seasons ago, Biga got a first-hand view of how commercial the fashion industry can be. It’s not something that appeals to him.
“When I move into this direction as a full-time career, as a life, I wouldn’t want to make a line of clothing,” he said. “I’d really prefer to do one-of-a-kind items for people. I think that means more.”
Biga doesn’t have a particular style that he creates, nor does he prefer men’s clothing to women’s. For him, it’s about finding the right direction for a commission, and then taking it from there. And while he’s able to express himself as an entertainer at Play Dance Bar, he says eventually it’ll be all design, all the time.
“A friend wanted a birthday gift to take to New York, so I made a cute little cocktail dress,” he said. “That kind of thing is happening more and more, so the business is beginning to take more of my time. That’s great, because it lets me show more people my point of view, my aesthetic, when it comes to creating a look for them.”
He hopes to eventually open a small boutique, not so much as a place to offer up lots of clothing but more as a design center, a place where someone can come and talk about the item, or outfit, they’d love to have.
“I want people to be able to come to me and get a custom piece,” he says. “I don’t know if that’ll happen in Nashville, because I imagine it in a larger city, but who knows? At the rate Nashville is growing, it may be ready for my thing sooner than I think.”