Yassai 7 Interview
I did a phone interview with Amir Yassai, the designer for Yassai 7 an interesting collection of wearable and editorial necklaces. Naturally there’s a twist. Yassai 7 has a social cause for each collection.
February 3, 2010
Fancy Face: So I was reading your mission statement, “Fashionably Change the World” by throwing together roughed up metals and ravaged chains with 7 collections that are represented by 7 colors that support 7 distinct causes developing a unique jewelry line on the foundation of giving to others with every bagged item. Yassai 7 is not just a style or trend but a lifestyle.” Why the number 7?
Yassai: Number 7 is usually a magical number in a lot of cultures, like my culture.
Fancy Face: What culture are you from?
Yassai: Middle Eastern from Iran.
Fancy Face: How did you come up with the concept behind Yassai 7?
Yassai: When we first started we didn’t have a specific direction but we wanted to create something that we would wear. We’d go to stores and couldn’t ever find something we wanted. We wanted to make sure people bought this amazing product with a charity edge. Being from the Middle East, violence and war is a big issue and I wanted to combine the duality between war and peace, love and hate. Like our brass knuckle necklace, you would use a brass knuckle for violence but we shaped it as a peace sign.
Fancy Face: Who is your typical customer?
Yassai: The people who wear our stuff are usually a socially conscious style consumer. They’re knowledgeable about the cause and yet want to wear something that looks cool.
Fancy Face: Can you talk a little bit about some of the distinct causes that you’ve been involved in?
Yassai: We’re trying to work with a number of charities and organizations right now that deal with “Stop Blood Diamonds” which is our first cause. We have seven causes and our other six causes are; Home to Homeless, Children, The Art, Darfur, Peace, and Environment. And they’re all color coordinated.
Fancy Face: What inspires you the most; music, art, movies?
Yassai: As far as designing goes, what inspires me the most is walking around and seeing what people are wearing. Like in Tokyo in the Harajuku district, seeing the mix and match of things has inspired me to mix and match different chains. I like to look at French and Japanese fashion because they take a lot more risks that Americans do.
Fancy Face: What three celebrities would you love to accessorize with your collection and why?
Yassai: I don’t know, that’s a great question. As far as style goes, Dita Von Teese. With the men someone who could really pull it off is Adam Lambert he has really edgy style. I’ve given pieces to Rihanna, I love her style I think she’s great. I would love to make a custom piece for her.
Fancy Face: I think it’s great that you have a cause and that it’s not just about fashion.
Yassai: If one person wears it and under stands the cause like our “stop blood diamonds” then we’ve done our part.
Fancy Face: Anything exciting coming up?
Yassai: Erica Taylor (from Erica Taylor PR) and I were going to do a launch party this Spring with Cockpit USA in New York. We’re doing Elle China and Elle Singapore. They did our “Love” necklace inVogue China. We might do custom pieces for Eve and Alicia Keys. Right now you can find Yassai 7 in Kin on Sunset in Los Angeles and H. Lorenzo in Laguna Beach. We also have a few pieces in Cockpit USA.
Fancy Face: Where do you see Yassai 7, 2 years from now?
Yassai: I’m hoping that our brand will start to warm up in America. Asian countries love it. What we’re trying to do for our next collection is try to go for something a little more streamlined. A lot of our pieces are editorial. But I want to make our stuff more wearable. We’re going to do a line with Metro Park and Urban Outfitters. We want to do things that are $30 retail so customers can still be a part of our cause but at a cheaper price.
Fancy Face: If you had to describe your collection as a cocktail, which one would it be?
Yassai: [LAUGHS] It’s like a Mojito with a little bit of jalapeno in it. The chains are so clean and the metal pieces are so in your face so the Mojito needs a little spice to it. I’m kinda just making a drink up, I don’t know I don’t drink very much [LAUGHS].
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By Jessica DStructure, February 25, 2010 @ 6:21 pm
This jewlery is soooooo dope!!!! Im obsessed with the kids with guns necklace. The mix of the dark and light chains give it such a cool contrast.