Sean Ziran of R*Kives

Lucky Liz: The story behind how you got into sewing is a good one, let’s start with that.

Sean Ziran: Way back in Feb 1990 I was a DJ for a friend’s 1 year old baby christening and some kids tried to crash the party. When the party was over there was a confrontation and in the craziness I got shot in the leg. The bullet chipped my bone but the force of me running on it actually broke the leg. I had to have four 10 inch pins screwed into my leg (External Fixation where the rods are outside). A few months later, I was desperate to go out clubbing. But clubs back then did not let you get in with baggy sweat pants, so I actually bought a $99 sewing machine with my good friend June. We had lots of jeans that needed hems and straight leg so it was cheaper than going to cleaners. I taught myself how to sew. I purchased some black twill and made my dress pants to fit over the pins. Then I started to make jackets using nylon and leather and by the Fall I was sewing bags. The funny thing was I was in college for computer science and I wanted to make my own computer. 19 years later I'm still sewing but designing on a computer.



LL: So now you're sewing outerwear and bags. What was your first “real job” in the industry?

SZ: I think it was with Triple 5 Soul in 1996. I started selling Ziran product out of their new store on Lafayette St. I also helped them launch their own bag line. It was perfect at the time. I provided multi-colored backpacks and sales were good plus TFS had the Japan market on lock.



LL: Tell us about your Ziran line and why you eventually stepped away from it.

SZ: Ziran is my middle name so decided to use it since I made most of the bags by hand and at the time it was unique; it just fit. When starting Ziran I was new to the game and I just wanted to make one-of-a-kind pieces from technical outerwear to back packs. My goal was to be the next North Face. In 1997, we did our first trade show, Magic, and that opened my eyes to what real business was. The first show was slow for us, we didn't have advertising money and our booth was small. We had to attract business to our booth so I made orange jumpsuits for the team. The team consisted of June who was my financial partner, Soe who did our marketing, and Vern and Dontay Tc5 doing the graphics. The experience was great and we had fun. Now the business side was another story. It was a slow grow knowing I could not make large quantities even if I got the orders. I got involved with a factory from Japan that promised to make our orders and they were responsible for shipping to all of our customers. My last season, 1998, we got about $250,000.00 worth of orders. Now it was on! But in the end the factory I was dealing with did not ship to any of the US stores, they only delivered to their accounts in Japan. They really did a number on us. All the way up to this point I was funding the company out of pocket and maxing out credit cards just to make this happen. When the factory didn't deliver, we didn't get paid. It ruined my relationship with store accounts. We were thinking about suing the factory to get some compensation but since they were in Japan I would have to get 2 lawyers 1 English and 1 Japanese and traveling to Japan would have been a lot more money. We couldn't afford to continue. My first lesson learned: "DON'T TRUST ANYONE !" So I stepped back.



LL: Talk a little bit about your design process. Do you start with a sketch, do you go straight to the computer, or do you start sewing from scratch?

SZ: My design process is unorthodox. When I start I generally just turn on the sewing machine, grab some fabric, some trims and hardware, and start cutting. I have been sewing for a long time so I know my bag sizes and shapes so rather than make a pattern or sketch which will take me a few hours I just cut the fabric and start sewing. Its faster and I don't want to sew for hours unless the piece is so detailed that I couldn't cut corners. Now if I were sketching bags on the computer, I just have to make the shapes- Illustrator is the best. Copy paste is so useful, can you imagine hand sketching a bag with 4 different colorways? Don't get it twisted I can hand sketch too but I rarely do it.



LL: Now talk to us about your newest line, R*Kives.

SZ: Ahhhh, R*KIVES NYC! When I was thinking about a new company to start in 2006 I wanted to choose a name that kinda felt like it's a person’s first initial period last name. I have worked with so many companies in the past and it was basically all about handing specs over to a factory that is overseas then 1 month later you get a sample correct or totally wrong. I stopped sewing for a while and I wanted to get back into it. New fabrics, new ideas, but using my old sensibility. I wanted to take it back to when I used to sew everything. It’s like a revival of what I like to do, it gives a product much more value. "Archives" sounded so dope at the time but online it was everywhere so I couldn’t use that ... so just make it short, easy to say, and all made in NYC. I wanted it to be clothing at first with some accessories but there are too many clothing lines out. This will be a lifestyle bag line, small collections with themes. The exterior fabrics and interior linings will be the details, not so technical and colorful like Ziran but more of a simple yet functional approach. You always need a bag to hold something, you might as well make it look good and work well. Use your bag like an article of clothing, "Don't leave home without it."



LL: What are your days like now?

SZ: My day starts kinda late. I don't have normal business hours so around 11am I start functioning. I get online check some emails then proceed. Some days I have to head downtown to get some supplies: fabric, buckles, needles, webbing etc. I hit the local garment district 38th and 7th Ave is my hot spot (laughs). Check on some new fabrics for exteriors or some crazy lining. The city is the best to get some inspiration. I'm a bag man so my eyes are always focused on bags. It's so weird that I can be on a train staring at bags even trying to sneak a picture with my trusty phone sometimes. When I am done visiting my vendors and some friends that work in the industry, I head home to drop off all the goods that I picked up during the course of the day. If I get excited over a fabric I just picked up, I will start to pull out the scissors and get busy and about 3 hrs later I have a new bag. If I like the fabric a lot, it becomes my new collection. I love the idea of small collections, it keeps it special and limited.



LL: You have collaborated with so many brands. Do they give you complete creative control or do you have to follow their vision?

SZ: I have been lucky so far. They give me a direction and maybe some fabrications and of course their corporate trims but usually they let me do whatever. If they want a duffel, back pack, messenger, etc I just use Illustrator to render some sketches and colorways and BAM, they approve! (laughs)


LL: What do you think about the industry today?

SZ: Hmmmm. It’s changing with the economy’s downfall. Everyone wants luxury but can't afford it. So now we are seeing a lot of items being made cheaper. It’s a bit crazy to adapt to these times because business a few years ago was about getting your product into big chain stores. Now some of those stores are out of business. In turn, that effects factories and the large quantities you have to order. You don't want to carry lots of stock so your orders have to be less. As a designer, we are losing our outlets. I want to offer quality goods at a good price but do I have to compromise my integrity? The industry is difficult but the true at heart stay in the game.

LL: Are there any bag companies that you feel are offering quality goods without compromising?

SZ: I respect "Masterpiece" from Japan, they are off the hook.



LL: Any last words? Future projects we should look out for?

SZ: Projects, projects, projects! I'm always involved with something. From Jack Spade to Rocawear to LRG to Leroy Jenkins to Expansion NYC to Rocksmith to 10 Deep to a new Golf bag line to some more furniture, speakers, oh yea I am going to start making light weight jackets too. R*Kives NYC is just a small piece of the puzzle. Thanks Lizzy!!!!!