femme fatale-styled by nina
nina serves quasi-pulp fiction with her graphic prints and page-three-girl silhouettes. her aesthetic embodies female empowerment with equal parts humor and beauty.
you design harnesses outside of your job at beacon's. what is it about the harness that inspires you?
my initial attraction to harnesses comes from their ambiguity as a clothing object. they exist in a realm between accessory, jewelry and garment. harnesses allude to fetish culture which has its own lurid appeal. in a more functional sense they're used as animal restraints or by rock climbers for safety. there is a play between restraint, compression, and a sense of body awareness that occurs when i wear a harness that i find inspiring.
i started NAC with the idea of body positivity and awareness in mind. my approach begins with using materials outside the typical expectation of a harness like satin elastic, stretch velvet and denim, creating a softer, minimal side of fetish wear.
what influences your style?
i’m influenced by day-to-day life. i like the transformative quality clothing has. we live in a city where you can wake up and present yourself as a new person any given day. it's freeing and at times confusing. but i try not to limit or categorize it. i feel a certain way when i put something on, even if it's just a big sweatshirt.
my top style icons (in no particular order) are miss piggy, aeon flux, anna nicole smith, and leigh bowery. sometimes i look at gene bilbrew's fetish illustrations from the 1950s/60s of pin-ups and dominatrix women that wear pointy bras, shiny, elbow-length gloves and some freaky eyebrows. they're scary, hot, and demand respect! i want to embody that kind of aesthetic of femme empowerment. i want to have fun and live out my own visual fantasies. sense of humor and beauty are equally important in my world.
what trends are you currently seeing at the buying counter?
i'm seeing bathrobes worn as a trench coat. leisurewear in general - silky pajama pants, extra long sleeves, "luxury" hoodies, androgynous silhouettes. i've been seeing minimalism with a wacky twist which i find relatable.
