by Cathy Martin | photographs by Richard Israel
Last September, while season 23 of “Top Chef” was quietly filming in the Carolinas, host Kristen Kish wore a sleek, black pinstriped suit to the 2025 Emmys (both Kish and the show were nominated). Kish didn’t win an Emmy, but her look drew plenty of attention, even earning a spot on Business Insider’s Best Dressed list. The slim suit, paired with a detached white collar and black tie, was designed and made by Walid Nassar and the team at Myers Park Tailors.
Nassar’s uncle started the Charlotte family-owned business in 1989. Today, it’s run by Walid and his wife, Hanaa, who are Lebanese immigrants, and their son and daughter. Their staff of about 15 makes high-end, custom garments using fabrics imported from Italy, England and elsewhere. Unlike some custom clothiers, everything is made in their Kings Drive shop versus overseas factories.
“We live local, we breathe local,” Nassar says. “We do everything right here.”
Last spring, Nassar got a call from a staff member at Bravo’s “Top Chef.” The show was looking for someone to help with fittings for the contestants and hosts.
“We freed our time for them on a daily basis to be at their hotel to fit the contestants first,” Nassar says. For the first few weeks, his team worked on tailoring the white chef coats worn by the cheftastants. Then, working with “Top Chef” stylist Charlotte Rose Coleman, they started fitting the hosts, including Kish, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons.
Walid Nassar of Myers Park Tailors
“They were in our shop on a regular basis,” says Nassar, who is no stranger to working with high-profile clients, including NFL and NBA players.
A special request from Kish
“I was surprised that Kristin liked us so much that she came in one night and she was like, ‘I want you to fit me for the Emmy Awards.’” Nassar wanted to create something extraordinary for Kish, who requested a suit that was open in the front.
“I came up with the idea at maybe 10 or 11 o’clock at night. I was working and I said, ‘I can do a faux collar — it’s going to look like a shirt on the top but it has no shirt body.’”
Kish came in and tried it on the next day and loved it, Nassar recalls. The entire process took about five days from conception to execution, including one final 24-hour push to get the suit finished in time for the ceremony.
“I was just holding my breath,” Nassar says. “I said, maybe it’s going to happen, maybe it’s not. Maybe she’s going to like it, maybe she’s going to change her mind at the last minute.”
He didn’t know for sure that Kish would end up wearing the suit until she tagged him on Instagram the night of the Emmys.
“Kristen is a great person. She had shown a whole lot of passion about the shop and the business.”
And Nassar had no trouble adhering to Kish’s no-dresses rule.
“We had a long conversation. … She said, ‘I don’t look good in dresses.’ I said, we’ll go ahead and do whatever you want. We want you to shine, no matter how.”
Walid, Hanaa and Tony Nassar of Myers Park Tailors
