Zana Bayne is every pop girl’s secret weapon. The LA-based designer has long been a decades-plus go-to for custom performance looks, consistently dressing everyone from Lady Gaga to Beyoncé and well beyond. This past year, Bayne has closely followed the rise of Grammy Award-winner Chappell Roan, creating on-stage leather outfits for tours, festivals and special appearances like Coachella, the VMAs and Saturday Night Live — all developed alongside Roan’s stylist Genesis Webb.
The 2025 Grammys saw this creative team join forces once again, bringing the “Pink Pony Club” to life on an oversized horse and surrounded by dancing rodeo clowns. Roan wore a western-inspired Zana Bayne original, complete with five different jewel-toned metallic leathers, crystal studding, cowgirl buckles and cascading fringe. Styled with big, wavy hair by Dom Forletta, Victorian-inspired glam by Andrew Dahling and gemstone nails by Juan Alvear, Roan’s appearance as this year’s Best New Artist was instantly iconic.
Below, PAPER goes behind the scenes with Zana Bayne to learn more about her process.
What is your creative relationship like with Genesis and Chappell? Obviously, you have such a signature style, so what does that collaborative process look like?
What I enjoy about working with Genesis and Chappell is that there’s a level of trust between all of us, and respect for each other’s strengths and opinions throughout. Chappell gives the concepts to Genesis, Genesis does her own research and brings the moodboard to me, then I take those references and run them through my own design filter and just put pencil to paper until it comes out right. Because I have a more specific aesthetic for my own brand, it’s been so fun to play with themes that I normally wouldn’t touch day to day. I love fashion, I love fantasy, and I love a showgirl moment and I get to really play with that part of my brain for her performance pieces.
What makes a signature Zana Bayne piece? How do you see yourself reflected in Chappell’s Grammys look?
I love structure, I love working with the beautiful shapes of the human body and then building my own curves into design. I love really thoughtful details, straps and buckles that make sense, and any style line that resembles a garter. I think there is something so delightful about leather appliqués; they’re like little tattoos all over a garment. I love studding and corset lacing, and I got to incorporate all of the above into the Grammys look without any O-rings or black leather which have historically been some of my signature details.
You've been doing this for quite some time now. Is it still exciting to see your work on a world stage like the Grammys? What was your reaction to seeing it on Chappell live this time around?
During our final fitting, Kay (Chappell) asked me if I had done a Grammys look before. I’ve been doing this for 15 years now — which is wild — and at first I was kind of blasé about the response because I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with so many talented performers over the years including the Grammys: the belt Demi Lovato wore for her powerful performance in 2020, and various accessories for Sam Smith, Violet Chachki, and Gottmik during the 2023 performance of “Unholy.” But it’s only in the last year or so that I’ve gotten back to working on full vision entire looks, so this was really something special and certainly not the last time.
How long does something like this take you, from ideation to completion?
I wish I had a really succinct and calculated answer for this, but it’s complicated. The design discussions with Genesis started at the beginning of January, but then we paused during the fires. And then we had fittings, re-workings of the concept, edits and changes up until five hours before the Grammy’s red carpet. We are constantly thinking on our feet and making sure the look makes sense with set changes and lighting. But in general there’s never a lot of lead time, so I’ll have a sketch approved in the morning and a sample by end of day, finessed and finished by the next morning.
You've made several looks to date for Chappell now. Do you have an all-time favorite?
I love all of my children. They’re all so special in their own way. I just borrowed back the Austin City Limits red and python look as well as the SNL hand-painted gingham outfit, so that I could properly photograph them as they had to go straight from the sewing machine into a box for FedEx. ACL actually was Ubered directly to LAX. I love looking back at the details. But now this Grammys outfit definitely takes first place. The metallic chocolate brown leather is so sumptuous and the finishings are really so fun.
Why do you think Chappell’s look and music are resonating so strongly and widely right now? How does it resonate with you?
I think we are constantly being fed imagery of perfection, filtered faces, best angles and curated existences, and that is not most people’s reality. So to have a performer like Chappell, who isn’t perfectly polished and at the same time exuding pride in herself and confidence in her character exactly as she is, is really speaking to a lot of people who maybe don’t get to see themselves reflected in popular media. I grew up having the craziest curly hair and a love for dressing creatively, and never felt like I looked like anyone else I knew. I embraced that and drew power from it, even though it’s not always easy to be left of center. I really appreciate that about Kay as well, and hope she knows how inspirational and important it is to her fans.
What's your wildest memory from the Abbey in WeHo? I've read that it inspired "Pink Pony Club."
Believe it or not I’ve only been to the Abbey once, and it was a pit stop on a party bus for Brooke Candy’s birthday a few years ago. My Pink Pony Club’s have been The Transfer in SF, Vandam at Greenhouse, GAG! at Metropolitan, Ladyfag’s 11:11 — any time Michael Magnan and Honey Dijon were playing it was close to heaven.
What music do you listen to when you're designing and constructing custom looks like these?
I kind of have very specific musical needs for different points of the design process. When I’m sketching and patterning I usually work in silence because my brain needs to hone in without distraction. If I have to come in super early to work then I put on Fever Ray self-titled. When I work late I start with Depeche Mode “Violator” and vibe out to gothy new wave. And definitely a ton of Amyl and the Sniffers once I got into the groove of this project.
Grammys photos via Getty
BTS photos via Zana Bayne
