Yes, yes we’re at it again! Welcome to part II of our leading ladies series… It’s HELLZ BELLZ ! I sat down exclusively with the fashion aficionado and brains behind the brand, Lanie, to discuss her brain-child, H-B. I started rocking Hellz Bellz in 2007, and ever since I have been a huge fan. It was a pleasure to chat with her for a few in her midtown NYC offiice….

First of all I must say, Lanie is adorable! H-B is this fiercely rebellious brand, with sexiness and cheekiness incorporated in all of the pieces from the graphic (and sometimes GRAPHIC, lol) tees, to the sexy cut and sew pieces. Lanie was so cute and tiny, giggly and sweet! Although she is clearly a grinder, and intensely serious about what she does– she also has a kind and gentle demeanor, but don’t get it twisted! There’s a lil bad ass in there, and it comes out exquisitely through her designs….

Isn’t she a lil cutie pie? Lanie and I sat down and  discussed “the game”, success, passion, and ahhhh yes. The unavoidable and inevitable haters! Y’all keep us going! Eh, check out the exclusiveness after the jump!

Cocoa B: Whattup world? I’m here with the beautiful, and talented Lanie of  the ridiculously fly urban-wear brand: HELLZ BELLZ! We’re coming to you live from midtown Manhattan! OK, let’s get into it. Tell us about the concept behind Hellz-Bellz and it’s history….

Lanie: H-B started in 2005 when I was living in NY (I’m from CA originally). I was working at a corporate company, and I was coming up with all these designs for them, and they weren’t feeling it, they wanted everything to look like “Baby Phat”, I was trying to come up with new trends because I could see where the market was going, but they weren’t having that, so I decided to move on and follow my own passions. I had so many rejected-designs that had accumulated, and I looke at them and said “you know what? I can do this”. It started out as a hobby, but my hobby turned into my passion and now here we are! But the intention witht he brand was never to make money. I always had this passion for graphic design and fashion and that is what drove me. Not the money. This is important to me. I also saw a void in the market. I wasn’t seeing anything I was drawn to, or really excited by so I decided to fill that void with H-B. Everything for women was so overly cute and femenine. And I KNOW this is because a lot of men design women’s clothing– which is great, but doesn’t always holistically represent who we are and what we want. I don’t wanna wear cutesy clothes all the time. I want some hot shit, that’s just bad-ass and nice looking. That’s all. SO other than raiding my husband’s closet for his grapphic tee’s and making them cute, I made my own! Haha.

Cocoa B.: Hahaha! Indeed. I love it! You’re showing all the young girls out there that you can have a dream and pursue it. Go for it! That’s wassup! Ok, so next question… How did the H-B team hook up? I know you all have a nice staff now… How did that transition happen?

Lanie: Well, for the longest time it was just me, and then I brought my husband, Bam on board and it became a labor of love for us. And we just did it out of love for what we were doing, and love for each other. So it worked. But eventually we realized as things grew, that we could not do it on our own any longer. We had to have a team, so (quite recently) we got a staff together from our like-minded friends and people we really trusted, and it’s great! They are people I could just shoot the shit with, and at the end of the day, if someone thinks something is wack, they can just say it. And we know each other well, and respect each other’s opnions and criticisms. So it works out great. It’s a team of about 7 of us. All friends.

Cocoa B. : Great. So you are based out of NY and LA as I understand it, right?

Lanie: Yeah, my showroom (here) is in NYC, and my design studio is in LA. I do most of my work in LA, and travel to my office here quite often…

Cocoa B.: Nice, nice… So tell me, do you have a muse? Someone (anyone, famous or not) that inspires your design?

Lanie: Oh goodness! There’s pleeeeeeeeenty of people there…

Cocoa B. : LOL! Ok, ok name 3, just 3!

Lanie: Ok, well first off I have to say Kate Moss. She’s so bold. She can just walk out with her titties hanging out, and it’s sexy. It’s not tacky or raunchy– it’s just HOT! Only Kate can do that. It’s artistic. She feels very comfortable with her body and that’s dope. She exudes strength and empowerment. So, yes I love Kate Moss! Agyness Deyn is another model that I love. For other reasons, she exudes strength. She’s just bold with her chopped off hair. She doesn’t go for the traditional notions of beautiful and that’s so Hellz… Id also have to say Kim. I LOOOOOOVE Lil’ Kim!

Cocoa B. : Yeah, who doesn’t? LOL! All very good choices! All these women are powerful and talented at what they do. They each show a form of empowerment in unique ways, so good job! OK, this next question might be a little similar to the answer you just gave but, who is your fashion hero? Who do you look forward to seeing on the red carpet, and who do you feel is consistent as far as good style?

Lanie: Hmmmmmm, it’s hard to say…. I kinda think everyone on red carpets look the same… But I love Chloe Sevigny. She’s very bold, different, doesn’t follow trends, does her own thing. And now she has her own line which is dope. She’s a lil bit out there, and gets a lot of slack for it, but that’s why I love her!

Cocoa B. : Awesome choice! I love her too. I’ve had an eye on her since “Kids”, and yes she mixes quirky-nerd with mod with bohemian with vintage style. She just meshes it all up and what comes out is her own unique shit. I really dig Chloe. Great choice! So…. who would you like to see rocking your clothes?

Lanie: Definitely Rihanna… It sounds so cliche bc she’s all over the place, but I don’t care I love her. She’s always coming out with new styles, and she’s just a chameleon. It’s great.

Cocoa B. Cool… So where do you see Hellz Bellz in the next 1o years?

Lanie: Oh, well I would like to see hellz bellz on every single woman everywhere… LOL, nah, I’m kidding. But seriosuly though I would like to expand… Get into accessories more… Eventually have a kids line– you know “lil bellz”! Hahahaha!

…We also want a mens collection. Just slowly branching out… I would just loved to be decked-out in H-B…

Cocoa B. : Indeed!  That’s the spirit! Ok… So tell us in your opinion what the biggest obstacle of being a woman in this industry (and this genre) is?

Lanie: When I first started the challenge was that my husband did all the work. All the graphic designing, and all the technical stuff. They just assumed because I am a woman and he’s a man that he did most of the work. But it wasn’t true. Not at all, and I’ve constantly had to prove myself until people were finally like OOOOOH! Ok! She’s the one in it from start to finish! I’m up in everything because I car about each and every part of this processs…

Cocoa B. : Was it a challenge working and living with your husband?

Lanie: Was it? Oh goodness was it! I mean, it’s hard when two creative people get together– you will rarely agree on everything all the time. But we value each others opinion and that helps. There is a lot of love there, and at the end of the day we are both working towards a common goal– our love an passion for this brand. It has become our life, our livelihood, and we enjoy what we do!

Cocoa B. : Cool. That leads me to my next question. If Lanie wasn’tthe super-fabulous HBIC of Hellz Bellz, what would she be doing right now?

Lanie: I’d be a make-up artist probably, or sticking to graphic design, designing layouts, working for a magazine or something.  It would have to be something creative. I’m not the cubicle-type. I would have to be in an environment where my creativity is able to sine through what I do.

Cocoa B. : True. Ok, so like other genres (such as jazz and hip-hop) some say “streetwear” is a phase. A passing trend that won’t stand the test of time. What would you say to the nay-sayers?

Lanie: People could say what they want, but this is a lifestyle– not a trend. People that are saying that just don’t live it, so they don’t understand. Artists like me will always be out there designing and expressing ourselves. This is not something that is just going to disappear. It might lose it’s shine a little, and it’s all good. Because we will still be here, and we will still be doing this!

Cocoa B. : Ok, now you have done many collaborations. Like Stussy, for example. Tell us about your very first collaboration, and your favorite collabo?

Lanie: My first collabo was with my good friends at Crooks & Castles– we did a few tee’s. We also did the Kate Moss “Good Gone Bad” tee… It was inspiring to do a collabo with Stussy. It was a dream come true. I’m from Southern California so I grew up around that brand. I can’t really say which collabo was my favorite because they were all special for different reasons. But yeah, doing Stussy was amazing…

Cocoa B. : How’d you link up with Stussy?

Lanie: Well, my friend Wendy (nitrolicious.com) she knew Brent from Stussy– so I hit her up and asked for an introduction and POOF! That was all it took.  coulda been scared and just dreamed about it. But I went for it, and it worked!

Cocoa B: Since you’ve straddled both coasts, how would you say the fashion scene in NYC differs from that in LA?

Lanie: Oh, they’re veeeeeeeery different. NY fashion is a lot more about weather It’s function, and praticality. But in LA its sunny ALL year round, so it’s more about comfort. I like NY fashion better. It’s very versatile. It’s harder to design for both coasts, because they are so different, but I like being challenged in that way.

Cocoa B. : Yes! I love the fashion here because of it’s diversity. Because of the weather you can wear leathers, boots, hats, gloves, and all sorts of intricate stuff! It’s fun! So…. Tell us in your own words what H-B represents?

Lanie: we rep strong women who aren’t afraid to be different. Who always wanna be outside the box, and just do their own thing. In Hollywood there are so many negative role models for young women, so my goal with Hellz is to be yourself. don’t aspire to be someone else, just do you because a lot of the people we glorify are in actuality very morbid and fake.

Cocoa B. : Preach, honey preach! Ok… This is my favorite part of the interview. My firing squad of questions. Get ready!!! MC Donald’s or Burger King?

Lanie: McDonald’s (just had some today!)

Cocoa B. : Diane Von Furstenberg or Vivienne Westwood?

Lanie: Ohhh, Vivienne Westwood all the way!

Cocoa B. : Louis Vuitton or Gucci?

Lanie: Oh, LV…

Cocoa B. : Ha! Me too… (I love u Marc!) Ok, ahem, moving on… Platinum or Gold?

Lanie: Platinum!

Cocoa B. : Tupac or Biggie?

Lanie: Ohhh tough– I’m reppin both coasts… But Ummmmmm. Biggie!

Cocoa B. : Lil Kim or Foxy?

Lanie: Lil’ Kim!!!!

Cocoa B. : Britney or Christina?

Lanie: Christina .

Cocoa B. : New Kids or Backstreet Boys?

Lanie: New Kids.

Cocoa B. : Rudy or Denise Huxtable?

Lanie: DENIIIIIISE!

Cocoa B. : Oh, I know she was my fave. So flava!  H&M or Top Shop?

Lanie: H&M. Top Shop is over-rated.

Cocoa B. : Nike or Addidas?

Lanie: Nike.

Cocoa B. : Plaid or Stripes?

Lanie: Plaid.

Cocoa B. : Morning person or Night Nurse?

Lanie: Night!

Cocoa B. : Kanye or Jay-Z?

Lanie: Geez, this is tough…. And I’ve worked with Jay before too….. Well…. I gotta say, Jay!

Cocoa B.: Well this concludes the interview-part of this session. I just wanna thank the whole Hellz-Bellz staff for making this happen, and especially the lovely and talened Lanie for giving us a little time in her busy schedule, you are truly a doll!

And she’s so smart too– see how she’s reppin?

Hellz Bellz is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Lanie has accomplished a lot in her career, and H-B is most definitely one of the top of the tops in urban-wear. her designs are fierce, sexy, creative, hardcore and sometimes even a tad violent (which I find simply delicious, bc it’s ficticious! Ha.). Lanie just came out with the Summer 2009 “So Lolita” collection to which Kanye West says, “I’m really feeling this”. Check it out:

For more info about Lanie, her fabulous team, and how to order please visit: www.hellz-bellz.com! Lanie was super sweet and super-cute– we had an awesome time! Tune in for more from the phenomenal women of LEADING LADIES… Peace!