All Over Albany

NYC has to import cool people from Albany

Interesting profile of the "charming, smart and disarmingly low-key" designer/director -- and Albany native -- Vashtie Kola posted today by the New York Times. About growing up in Albany:

Her ability to hop from one world to another has a lot to do with her upbringing. Ms. Kola grew up in a poor section of downtown Albany, the daughter of Trinidadian immigrants.

"My parents didn't explain a lot of things to me about West Indian culture," she said. Her neighborhood was predominantly black, she said, adding: "I assumed I was black. But the black kids were like, 'You look Indian,' and the Indian kids were like, 'You look black.' "

She started hanging out in Albany's Washington Park. "You know how all the weirdo kids hang out in public parks? We all hung out in this one -- the suburban kids who would come down to skate and buy drugs, then there were the hippie kids, the thug kids." But she was a good student, and landed a scholarship to the all-girls Academy of the Holy Names.

Kola went on to study film, direct a bunch of music videos, launch a fashion line and become the first woman to design an Air Jordan. You know, and hang out with people like Jay-Z, Q-Tip and Kid Cudi.

As Matt commented last year: "Vashtie Kola is the coolest thing ever to come out of the 518 area code."

(Thanks, Naomi!)

photo via Vashtie Kola Facebook