Pierre Paulin and Marni. Thomas Houseago and Simone Rocha. Philip Taaffe and Alexander McQueen. These pairs may not sound intuitive but for Pari Ehsan, it couldn’t be clearer. Museum masterpieces and designer fashion fuse seamlessly in her mind.
It all started when Ehsan noticed her fur jacket perfectly complimented the collection at a New York art gallery she was in – and snapped her first image. Her creative eye has since garnered a CFDA award nomination, partnerships with brands like J. Crew, and a nearly 5-year career as editor of Pari Dust (and its wildly popular Instagram). Working at the intersection of fashion, art, and design gets exhausting – but it helps her get some sleep at night.
What’s keeping you up at night right now?
Pari: Not much because I’m a really good sleeper. The only thing is work flowing around in my mind.
What do you wear to sleep?
Pari: Right now I’m wearing purple basketball shorts and a big t-shirt. I’m into comfort.
What makes you fall asleep?
Pari: My life. There’s a lot I want to accomplish in a day, so it takes a lot out of me. And I’m more of a morning person, so when it gets to be night, I’m ready to pass out.
What is your bedtime ritual?
Pari: I’ll meditate a little bit or read but it’s not too long of a ritual. Right now I’m reading a book that’s like a dictionary of symbols.
How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Pari: It really varies but I try to sleep at least 7 hours.
Last dream you remember?
Pari: My Boston terrier was half himself and half baby seal and I needed to rescue him in the ocean. I feel like it has to do with the fact that he was with my parents in Indiana and thought I had abandoned him.
First thing you do when you get out of bed?
Pari: I usually do yoga in the morning. My favorite teacher has a really soothing voice, so he makes me want to get out of bed.
What else do you do in your bed besides sleep?
Pari: I scroll Instagram, I meditate, sometimes I read. I mostly sleep because I’m always tired!
Why is your career important to you?
Pari: Because it’s my baby and it’s my dream job. I’m very thankful that I get to do what I love everyday and I want to grow it and expand it. Since what I’m doing is creating this magical dream world between fashion and art and design, I get to reinvent myself every day, which I love. Everyday is different and exciting and new.
What gives you energy throughout the day?
Pari: I am addicted to dirty chai lattes.
What’s your relationship with your electronics? Do they sleep with you?
Pari: What I do is so dependent on social media and the internet so I have a pretty close relationship [with my electronics]. I try not to sleep with my phone next to my brain so it’s usually on the floor.
What’s your relationship with sleep?
Pari: When I have a nice sleep, I feel like I can do anything. When I don’t, I can’t function.
If you had an extra fifteen minutes in your day, what would you do with it?
Pari: I would read a dream decoder because that’s really interesting to me. I have really vivid dreams that I feel could mean something deeper in my subconscious.
What city do you sleep in?
Pari: I sleep in New York City.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
The views, opinions, and positions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of Tomorrow Sleep LLC, its affiliates or their employees.