Name: Zana Bayne of Zana Bayne.
Known for: Bringing bondage harnesses from the bedroom to the streets.
Age: 26.
From: Seattle and San Francisco.
NY neighborhood: East Williamsburg, studio in Manhattan.
Inspirations: “Silhouettes, people around in New York, and imagining how I could create things that would apply to them.”
Studio jams: “Sometimes it’s really minimal techno to keep the flow going, sometimes it’s all Beyonce, sometimes we just get into a Siouxsie and the Banshees power hour.”
The best advice she’s ever been given: “Take risks.”
Favorite spot in NY: The Frick Museum.
Name: Adam Selman of Adam Selman.
Known for: Playful, sexy women’s separates.
Age: 32, shhhh.
From: Belton, Texas originally.
NY neighborhood: Greenwich Village, studio on 29th St.
Inspirations: “From current events to nostalgia, I love to start from a place in the past and then bringing it into a place in the future.”
NY design heroes:“I really love Halston, he’s an amazing designer to me. I love Zaldy, he doesn’t get enough credit.”
Why he loves New York: “Because it feels like home to me.”
The best advice he’s ever been given:“You can give somebody great clothes but you can never give them style.”
Names: Mike Eckhaus, Zoe Latta, of Eckhaus Latta.
Known for: Avant-garde, textile-driven pieces for the downtown kids.
Age: 26, 27.
From: New York (Mike), Santa Cruz, California (Zoe).
Neighborhood: Chinatown, East Hollywood.
Inspirations: “We don’t really work from direct sources of inspiration, it’s always elusive.” -Mike.
The best advice they’ve ever been given: “Stick to your guns.” -Mike. “The heart is a muscle.” -Zoe
Name: David Michael Hershberger of David Michael.
Known for: New romantic, draped womenswear with a hint of rock.
Age: 32.
From: Huntington Beach, Southern California.
NY neighborhood: Soho.
Inspirations: Friends, playing music, aliens, science.
The best advice he’s ever been given: “Drink lots of water and get some sleep.”
Name: Arielle de Pinto of Arielle de Pinto.
Known for: Funkyoffish chainmail accessories and knitted shoes.
Age: 29.
From: Toronto, Montreal.
NY neighborhood: Chinatown.
Style icon: Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Why she loves NY: “There’s constant change and clashes of cultures. I also like talking to strangers on the street.”
The best advice she’s ever been given: Never hold back.
Name: Jessica Walsh.
Known for: A knockout Parson’s MA collection, helping Kanye West realize his designs at adidas.
Age: 24.
From: Stockton-on-Tees, in the northeast of England.
Inspirations: “Viewing people on the subway, watching them interact, their behaviors and body language is really important and the core of my inspiration.”
Why she loves NY: “There is no schedule and 24 hours really does exist here. My days generally start at 10pm and some of my best work comes from the night.”
Names: Beckett Fog, Piotrek Panszczyk of Area.
Known for: Intelligent, embossed women’s collection and unisex, vacuum-packed Ts.
Age: 26, 28.
From: Kentucky, Poland.
NY neighborhood: Chinatown.
Inspirations: Texture, random selfies.
Style icons: “It’s more about the texture and, while we work, about the process which forms a person. So in the end, it’s up to you to decide.” -Piotrek.
The best advice they’ve ever been given: “My dad drilled something in me since I was young: if you are not going to do something right, don’t do it at all. My mom also said, ‘Always leave a party when you’re having fun.'” – Beckett.
Name: Max Vanderwoude Gross of Proper Gang.
Known for: Primary-colored reworked men’s classics
Age: 28.
From: Maryland.
NY neighborhood: Bushwick, SoHo.
Inspirations: Characters, real people, and nature.
Style icon: “Literary people, revolutionary people, that kind of stuff. Charles Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, and the Black Panthers.”
Studio jams: “Definitely hip-hop, that’s an old favorite. But right now, I’m getting into old soul music, blues, jazz, even house.”
Why he loves NY: “I more love the idea of old New York rather than New York right now. It’s a little commercial, not so cool as it used to be.”
The best advice he’s ever been given: You’re only on this ride once. You’ve only got one life, so try to be happy.
Name: Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada
Known for: A new kind of stripped-back leather and silk look.
Age: 27
From: California.
NY neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Inspirations: “I am constantly inspired by just being in the city, travelling, and seeing different kinds of landscapes, different cultures, and how people are dressing.”
Studio jams: Nature-infused synthetic beats.
The best advice she’s ever been given: Always wear black.
Name: Ryu Hayama of Fingers Crossed.
Known for: Conceptual menswear combining NY ease and Japanese deconstruction.
Age: 38.
From: Japan.
NY neighborhood: Lives in Sunnyside, Queens, studio on Broadway and 23rd St.
Inspirations:90s, grunge, and Radiohead.
NY design heroes: Ojo Abramav.
Style icon: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.
Studio jams: Radiohead.
The best advice he’s ever been given: Just take it easy. Don’t think too much and just let it go.
Watch our interviews with these designers on the i-D Facebook page!
Credits
Photography Jerome Corpuz
Grooming Dana Boyer