Meet The Fashion Set’s Cake Boss

As a matter of fact, after founding Flour Shop, Kassem has gone from just another fashion-world stylist, hanging out at the parties, to the artist whipping up its centerpieces. Following a six-year stint working for magazines and Johan Lindeberg’s BLK DNM, Kassem found herself at the center of a vibrant, inspiring world doing something that just didn’t feel genuine to her. “I realized it wasn’t for me,” she says. “I mean, I learned a lot, but it didn’t feel like it was artistic work I could call my own.” So, she reached back into her youth to find something she could grab on to. “I stick to things that make me smile, whether it's food, friends, jokes, balloons, surprises, fireworks, music, dancing, ice cream, or shoes,” she says, with a huge grin on her face. “They all come from a pure place. I mean, it’s okay to grow and learn, but there’s no need to stop liking the things you've enjoyed all along.”

Granted, dropping out of the styling game to make, of all things, cakes is a bit of a gamble. But — somewhat surprisingly — Kassem's work has quickly become the toast of the fashion set. Her giant, frosted (and completely delicious) cakes, which look like cartoon hamburgers, doughnuts, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and confections in other smile-inducing shapes, have starred at parties and promotions for Terry Richardson, Henry Hargreaves, Warby Parker, Olivia Wilde, Chrissie Miller, Phillip Lim, and dozens of other high-profile clients. “One of my friends describes me as an artist and that cake is my medium. I sculpt cakes, paint them with frosting, and top them off with sprinkles!” It’s absurd, wonderful art that’s all her own — until we get our forks into it, that is.