On our pilgrimage to San Francisco in 2012 we hit the Castro Street Fair and, being the kolour kweens we are, we loved seeing all the multi-coloured harnesses for sale. Only these weren’t regular harnesses, no these harnesses were made out of tough, durable yarn…giving birth to the Yarness. Here we talk to Yarness’ HBIC Mr Ryan Crowder.
Photos by Robbie Sweeny.
Ryan, how did you come up with the idea Yarness?
I was at home the day before the Folsom Street Fair in 2010 crocheting. I didn’t have an outfit and decided to make something to wear. I finished the first yarness in the early morning hours and wore that shit to Folsom the next day. I have never been much of a leather queen so it was a way for me to be myself and relate to the folks there. Friends and strangers freaked out and loved it. The next couple years I made new yarnesses based on the designs I saw at the fair. After I quit my job in 2014 I decided to do a crowdfunding campaign to make a bunch of them. After that it got bananas and I started the company.
What had you been doing before that?
I’m a self-taught artist and have been making works with craft methods for years including cross-stitch, crochet, felt and sewing. I am also a dancer and performer and was part of the body-positive dance troupe, Sexitude here in San Francisco.
Is it as fetish-y an object as a regular harness? What is people’s feedback generally?
At the beginning I was committed to it being a fetish garment. I specifically chose yarn that was strong and durable; they won’t break and are totally usable for sex. As time has gone on, I’ve become less interested in them as pure fetish garments. I started to see how people were wearing them out to parties and dances and just looking so happy. I remember running into a sexy little trans man beaming in his Yarness at an early hours New Years party in 2015. I started designing less with sex in mind and more for a variety of types of funnnnn.
People have always been very divided when it comes to Yarness. They either absolutely love it or think it is the most ridiculous thing ever. I enjoy this…. mostly. It at times has been challenging to manage online feedback as some people were totally grumpy about the project. Some leatherfolk felt I was making fun of them. But the numbers of people that smile when they see it greatly outnumber the haters. Also the number of people that have purchased them and wore them out and felt good about their bodies keeps me going. People also like the dancing GIFs, videos, and photography we have put out over the years.
What are your plans for Yarness in 2016?
I’ve been morphing Yarness into a brand and Im working on a new collection coming out this Fall. It includes some new products in addition to the Yarness. People will see it in some stores stateside and we will be at Folsom Street Fair, and couple other street fairs/events. Working on some cool shit for the internetz currently.
Can you tell us about the Loverboy shoot?
This shoot was fun to put together. I looked around me in San Francisco and picked talented people to collaborate with. Robbie Sweeny, the photographer, is a local San Francisco staple of the performance scene. Daniel Adams is a crazy talented make-up artist and drag persona, Tyson Lee (the stylist) is a fashion babe, and David Marks did the sets and has designed some beautiful queer nightlife interiors here in SF like Oasis and Virgil’s. I choose models for my shoots from the community, Rotimi and Shawnrey are local performers I’ve been inspired by, while Blaine and Sam captured my heart on Instagram.
What other types of product do you sell and what will you be diversifying into?
We are two years into Yarness now and last year started to introduce new stuff. I collaborated with two knit artists on new products; Ben Cuevas and I made a knit puppy hood and Ryan Deboneville and I have some cute jocks. Other items in the Yarness store play with the masculinity of fetish garments like knit mesh singlets, tanks and some tshirts (there is a cute one from Australian artist Elwyn Murray).
Who would you most like to see wearing a Yarness?
I totally want Shamir because he is cute and fun, also that Years and Years kid. Perfume Genius would be dreamy because goth femme queer, Guillermo Diaz because sexy, and Anderson Cooper because a man has got to loosen up sometime and you just know he likes to get nasty. I’d also like to make a special one for Azealia.
What’s your favourite Mariah Carey song?
‘Heartbreaker’. I fucking watched that video 400 times. Close second is “Emotions” because those damn squeaky high notes at the end.
Buy your yarness here.
