I've known Paul for 3 years. He was "Fashion Santa" then. It just didn't blow up until last year. I liked his look in general and did a bunch of events with him for Fashion week, TOM, etc and when I asked him about the beard, he told me about his mom dying and growing it out of grief.
He's always been a model, but his career really took off with the beard. I told him in a weird way, it was his moms final gift to him. And him taking that grief and deciding to pay it forward by being "Fashion Santa", then it blowing up 2 years later was a gift from her. What YORKDALE did is disgusting on a number of levels, but not uncommon in the business world. For everyone saying "first world problem", you're absolutely right. That's EXACTLY what's wrong with the first world. People putting profits over people and their wallets over their hearts. I guarantee you whether PAUL "wins" or "loses" #FashionSanta without Paul won't fly.
There won't be the same lines and there definitely won't be celebs like Justin Bieber going to see some guy with a dyed beard. Fashion Santa isn't a "brand" or a trademark. It's a legacy borne by a sons love for his mother and no corporate facsimile could ever replace that.
The blessing his mother gave him isn't Yorkdale's to take and it will never be theirs to profit from in the same way. ✌🏿️
KB