Sandy Liang ‘never planned’ to be associated with bows

Whether intentional or not, every designer and artist eventually develops their own codes and motifs that become markers of their brand. Walking through the streets of any major fashion capital, chances are if you were to bump into someone adorned with bows, you’d know they love Sandy Liang. 

Over the last decade, the New York-based designer has captured the hearts and wardrobes of nostalgic, whimsical dreamers. And now, Liang is giving her cult following a new accessory to add to their looks: a reimagining of the Beats Solo 4 headphones, with her signature hand-drawn pink ribbon motif stretched across the headband. Even the packaging, which features a 3D-sculpted pink ribbon, feels like a keepsake that can be used as decoration. 

For the campaign, Liang and Beats enlisted photographer Pia Riverola to bring the vision to life in a Lost in Translation style shoot. Telling the story of a heroine lost in New York, the imagery evokes a dreamy sense of solitude. In it, we see model Amelia Gray alone in a hotel room, walking the busy streets as she finds comfort in music amidst the city’s chaos. “Amelia has such a commanding presence, independent and self-assured, and is a true lover of music,” Liang tells Dazed.

Below Liang tells us more about the collab, her unintentional association with bows, and what she listens to in the studio.

Hi Sandy! Congrats on your new collaboration. How did this first come about?

Sandy Liang: I used Beats as part of some runway looks for the Spring 23 collection and some time afterwards, Beats reached out to do a product together.

What is your relationship with music like? Does music impact your creative process or play a role in your work?

Sandy Liang: Each runway season I look forward to creating the playlist for the show with a sound designer.  I feel like both the girl and the collection really come to life once the playlist is done – there’s something about seeing the models walk to the music that really completes the world for that season. 

What music do you usually listen to when you’re working on a collection?

Sandy Liang: I don’t think I have a usual playlist! I’m pretty open to everything. If something happens to pull me in, I explore that a little bit.  

Did you approach designing wearable tech differently to ready-to-wear pieces? What was it like transforming the Sandy Liang world into headphones?

Sandy Liang: With ready-to-wear, I’m more aware of the limitations just due to the production minimums, costs, and not fun things like that. When it came to designing the Beats headphones, I thought about what I would want to wear – which is the thing that guides all my design decisions. My initial thought was to create something that reminded me of technology I would see as a pre-teen in the 2000s. It made me think back to how badly I wanted my first cell phone and what the marketing around that felt like to a kid. It was so optimistic. I wanted to bring that into the headphones with the silver, and then I had to add a fun little touch of the ribbon detail at the top. It’s slight enough that you could miss it, but when you see it it feels special.  

The headphones feature your signature bows – how does it feel to know bows are such an iconic symbol synonymous with your brand now? Could you tell us a bit about how that motif first became part of both your personal style and brand?

Sandy Liang: The bows to me mean princess energy. I never planned to be associated with them; I just happened to use them one season, and it kind of grew from there.  

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Sofia Coppola so, so, so much. I don’t remember the first time I saw Lost in Translation, but I do know it makes me feel emotional – Sandy Liang

The campaign, shot by Pia Riverola and starring Amelia Gray, is so gorgeous and inspired by Sofia Coppola. Do you remember the first time you watched Lost in Translation, and Coppola’s work in general – how did it make you feel? 

Sandy Liang: Anyone who knows me knows that I love Sofia Coppola so, so, so much. I don’t remember the first time I saw Lost in Translation, but I do know it makes me feel emotional and makes me want to travel to Tokyo. For the shoot, I wanted to emulate the feeling of being a bit out of touch with your environment, so you put on your headphones and escape into your own world through familiar music.  I identify certain parts of my life or memories with specific songs, and it fascinates me how powerful music can be.

Fashion and music both equally have the power to inspire. Was there a specific song or album that influenced your creative process for this collab?

Sandy Liang: Nostalgia is always an inspiration for me, and I’ve always been drawn to early 2000s tech gadgets, like the first CD players which had an excessively futuristic aesthetic. That early 00s era and that soundtrack to my life at that time was something I kept coming back to when designing for this collab.

If the headphones were stuck with one song on repeat, which song would you want it to be?

Sandy Liang: “Let go” by Frou Frou.

What do you want people to feel when they wear the headphones?

Sandy Liang: I want them to feel like they’re in their own world.