My first introduction to Zana Bayne was through a mutual friend, tattoo artist and Sang Bleu founder Maxime Büchi. Zana Bayne makes leather harnesses which can be worn any which way, either as an accessory to accent a beautiful dress or sharp shirt—or simply by itself against the skin. A year after my first meeting Zana and her handmade leather harnesses are now carried at our NY and LA stores. I visited the Zana Bayne studio to chat with the designer about her rapid and recent media exposure, the production of her line, and what exactly a Jay-Z / Kanye harness would look like...
Shop all Zana Bayne here.
Sean Risley: Your work has a very intricate, geometric vibe—when you design, do you think in practical terms or do you look at it from an editorial standpoint, or something entirely different?
Zana Bayne: As far as the intricate, geometric designs are concerned, that's just how my mind works. Those pieces tend to begin with sketches where I work out the patterning beforehand. Often there are certain shapes that I want to create on the body and from there I figure out if it's better to do something simpler or ornate.
SR: Chloë Sevigny is fan of your work. How'd you feel when you saw her wearing your pentagram harness, forever immortalized on Terry Richardson's photo blog...
ZB: Whenever I see my harnesses out and about in the real world, I get his total proud-parent feeling! So imagine that multiplied by seeing the awesome Ms. Sevigny rocking hers on a night out. After a few too many cocktails at the Boom Boom Room, I went up to Mr. Richardson and thanked him for documenting that moment.
SR: Lady Gaga first wore your pieces in her Saturday Night Live appearance this year and more recently in her "You & I" music video—was this another OMG WTF WOW moment of 2011 for you?
ZB: It was actually incredibly surreal; I had worked for 30 hours straight on those pieces (no sleep, lots of Redbull) and to suddenly see them in action was unreal! At the same time, the reality was that I celebrated for about 5 minutes and then got back to work on making more harnesses. Even with victories like that, the work still has to get done!
SR: Out of all the recent editorials featuring ZB in the past year, which are your favorite?
ZB: Vogue Japan featuring Lara Stone (shot by Mario Sorrenti) and Candy Magazine #3 featuring Playboy Bunny Boys (shot by Mario Vivanco)
SR: So far your collections have never included shoulder or arm pieces-—do you have any plans to focus on arms and hands in the future?
ZB: Believe it or not, a lot of what I make has to do with functionality, movement, and comfort. One reason why I have steered clear of arm pieces is simply the fact that we are always using our arms! When the body expands and contracts, twists and bends, thicker leather will simply buckle or lose form. Plus then you have to deal with layering, sleeves, etc. But none of this is set in stone, and I can hint that there will be some arm and hand action in my next collection…
SR: What's the most unusual custom ZB request you've had?
ZB: I was recently asked to make a custom white harness to go over a girl's wedding dress!
SR: Was producing a vegan alternative to your leather pi
Shop all Zana Bayne here.
Sean Risley: Your work has a very intricate, geometric vibe—when you design, do you think in practical terms or do you look at it from an editorial standpoint, or something entirely different?
Zana Bayne: As far as the intricate, geometric designs are concerned, that's just how my mind works. Those pieces tend to begin with sketches where I work out the patterning beforehand. Often there are certain shapes that I want to create on the body and from there I figure out if it's better to do something simpler or ornate.
SR: Chloë Sevigny is fan of your work. How'd you feel when you saw her wearing your pentagram harness, forever immortalized on Terry Richardson's photo blog...
ZB: Whenever I see my harnesses out and about in the real world, I get his total proud-parent feeling! So imagine that multiplied by seeing the awesome Ms. Sevigny rocking hers on a night out. After a few too many cocktails at the Boom Boom Room, I went up to Mr. Richardson and thanked him for documenting that moment.
SR: Lady Gaga first wore your pieces in her Saturday Night Live appearance this year and more recently in her "You & I" music video—was this another OMG WTF WOW moment of 2011 for you?
ZB: It was actually incredibly surreal; I had worked for 30 hours straight on those pieces (no sleep, lots of Redbull) and to suddenly see them in action was unreal! At the same time, the reality was that I celebrated for about 5 minutes and then got back to work on making more harnesses. Even with victories like that, the work still has to get done!
SR: Out of all the recent editorials featuring ZB in the past year, which are your favorite?
ZB: Vogue Japan featuring Lara Stone (shot by Mario Sorrenti) and Candy Magazine #3 featuring Playboy Bunny Boys (shot by Mario Vivanco)
SR: So far your collections have never included shoulder or arm pieces-—do you have any plans to focus on arms and hands in the future?
ZB: Believe it or not, a lot of what I make has to do with functionality, movement, and comfort. One reason why I have steered clear of arm pieces is simply the fact that we are always using our arms! When the body expands and contracts, twists and bends, thicker leather will simply buckle or lose form. Plus then you have to deal with layering, sleeves, etc. But none of this is set in stone, and I can hint that there will be some arm and hand action in my next collection…
SR: What's the most unusual custom ZB request you've had?
ZB: I was recently asked to make a custom white harness to go over a girl's wedding dress!
SR: Was producing a vegan alternative to your leather pi