While working from home in Brooklyn late last year, designer Ron Bass got a phone call from Beyoncé's stylist.
Jay Z, with Beyonce, sports a Ron Bass hat at a Miami Heat game.Photo: Splash News and Pictures
Apparently, Jay Z was so taken with a hat Bass made for Ty Hunter, his wife's stylist, that the rap star "borrowed" it — permanently. Hunter hoped Bass would make him another.
But the real surprise came a few weeks later when Jay Z was photographed wearing Bass' hat — a black cap emblazoned with his red crown logo — at a Miami Heat basketball game with Beyoncé.
"And, just like that, my hat also had a front-row seat to the game," says the 30-year-old designer behind BASS by Ron Bass. "Thanks to them, people took notice."
Inspired by the graffiti work of artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bass has been turning heads with his colorful men's caps, tees and jackets, all emblazoned with splatters, scribbles and sayings.
"I want people to be walking pieces of art instead of simply just wearing clothes," says Bass, who studied at Pennsylvania's Edinboro University and Long Island's Briarcliffe College and has a degree in digital photography.
Rita Ora rocks a Ron Bass jacket.Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
This year, Rita Ora was photographed wearing one of his graffitied faux-leather motorcycle jackets — Bass is vegan — to a New York Fashion Week show. Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx and Swizz Beatz are also fans, and Beyoncé has worn Bass' custom snapback cap on several occasions.
Even Blue Ivy is in on the action.
A few months ago, Bass was asked to create the 2-year-old's Halloween outfit. (Mom Beyoncé was dressing as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, while dad Jay Z went as Basquiat.)
"The Carters wanted Blue to be a 'Baby Basquiat' for Halloween, but Blue wanted to be a princess," says Bass. So he hit on a compromise, designing a black jacket and shoes with Basquiat-inspired artwork, which Blue Ivy paired with a frilly white dress.
"They were very happy with the look — she was more of a princess 'Baby Basquiat,' " the designer says.
Even Blue Ivy is sporting Ron Bass.Photo: beyonce.com
It's hard to believe that, just a few years ago, Bass was a front-desk agent at a downtown hotel — a job that found him desperate for a creative outlet.
"I knew that there was more out there for me," he says. "So I vented my frustrations through artwork, but I also loved fashion as well, so the adoration of the two naturally fused together."
He used fabric as his canvas, ripping up clothes and then painting on them. He soon landed a job at a styling agency, and from there landed a gig at YSL corporate. He debuted his clothing line in November 2012 in New York.
For now, his line of street-smart menswear is sold in such NYC shops as Vinnie's Styles and Jimmy Jazz, and he's soon to announce a deal with a major department store. His jackets run around $400, his T-shirts $60 and his signature baseball caps, $45.
Bass is planning to branch out into women's fashion too, though lots of ladies are already borrowing from his menswear line.
Angela Simmons goes bold in Ron Bass.Photo: Blayze/ Splash News
"Women are harder than men to dress because [they] like to accessorize," he says. "Guys are easier — jeans, sneakers, tops, jackets and we are ready to roll."
And there are plenty more notables he hopes to one day dress — including Andre 3000, Pharrell and Kanye West.
And Oprah.
"I actually already have a dashiki tunic shirt for her that I would love for her to wear the next time she is in Africa," he says.
Until then, he continues to paint — not just on clothing, but on canvas, cars, bikes, even a throne he inscribed "Fit for a King but room for a Queen."
"I want young kids that look up to me to see the king in themselves," he says. "When it comes down to it, I am a visual artist and a designer. I am single. My art and my work — that is who I am with most of the time."
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