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Rising Signs
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Logan Riese
Salvatore Sampino
08/01/2007
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Photography by Cordero Studios/corderostudios.com
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Focused
careers require planning. Expansive ones require time. Ten years ago, Logan
Riese, then a jewelry designer based in Santa Monica, Calif., began to focus on
where he wanted his career to progress over the next decade. He had already
lived in Costa Rica for five years, where he had developed and marketed his own
line of resort wear. His jewelry was unique, substantial, weighty, rock and roll
oriented, and biker attractive. Riese was a bit ahead of his time, but in
retrospect, he was right in there with all of the others. With designer Roberto
Cavalli as his idol and inspiration, he began to experiment with leather and
denim—jackets, vests, shirts, and embellished jeans for men and women.
 Riese took a warehouse in Santa Monica as his workspace and
eventually hired people to draw, cut, and sew. He set out to create a constant
design process, the feeling and the vibe of creativity, whether it came from the
artist or the motorcycle rider as inspiration. He wanted to make sophisticated
leather pieces, of heirloom quality, which would transcend time, and say
something about the person wearing them. (Click image to enlarge)
Fashion, by its nature, sets certain people apart from others.
When a fashion or style filters down into the mainstream, becoming one with it,
it becomes accepted by the masses, making it easier to market. By that time,
those who have made their statement before all of the others, are up and onto
the next. "Every designer speaks to a particular person differently," says
Riese. "Once you strike a chord in someone, you know you have introduced them to
a part of themselves that they might not have known. I see it in their eyes all
the time." Riese now knows a great deal more about the subject, and the ability
to comment on it, with some of his private clients customarily selecting and
maintaining 30 to 40 of his pieces in their wardrobes at a given time.
 Shortly after 9/11, Riese was contacted by Hogg Pitt Customs,
who had seen some of his work and asked him to make a custom motorcycle seat for
a tribute bike. His seats were so unique and well constructed, that they not
only became immensely popular, but it led to requests for matching jackets and
vests. On the appeal of his work to the motorcycling community, Logan explains,
"It calls to mind many things: the image of the aviator, the motorcycle cop, the
bad boy image from the James Dean era. It’s about independence, freedom, and
taking a stand." (Click image to enlarge)
This is after all, what Riese believes fashion to be. "It lets
you
define who you are," he says, "and that is why people gravitate toward
certain designers." He admits that being a successful leather designer
is part
of what draws the community to him. "When you excel at that,"
Riese explains,
"motorcyclists tend to naturally gravitate to you, and
want you to recreate that
for their lifestyles."
For many of the intricate inlays he designs, Riese’s pieces are
made
of fine imported Italian leathers and exotic skins. Shark, custom
finished python, fox, and coyote are only some of the accents. It is
not unusual
for Riese to flip through stacks and stacks of stingrays,
sometimes 200 at a
time, to select only the best. This is, what he
strongly feels sets his work
apart from other manufacturers and it is
part of what makes each garment so
special. Some jackets take up to six
or seven different skins to produce.
 Riese is well aware of the nexus between rock ‘n’ roll and
motorcycles. (Click image to enlarge)
Several years ago a stylist suggested Logan’s name to singer
Jon Bon Jovi. Riese was invited to do a presentation by the pool at the Beverly
Hills Hotel. What most impressed Riese was Bon Jovi’s desire to not date himself
by what he would be wearing. "He didn’t want someone to be able to pick up a
photo of him 20 years from now and see a dated quality," said Riese, "and I
believe that spoke to the timelessness of what I do, and of what I was trying to
do at the time." Little did he know at that time, that he would end up designing
for Bon Jovi again for the 2005/6 Have A Nice Day world tour. And he certainly
didn’t know that he would end up outfitting the entire band for their
100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be
Wrong box set. His company, Logan Riese
Leather and Denim, has since designed exclusive, custom pieces for Kid Rock,
Dave Navarro, Lenny Kravitz, Alan Jackson, and Shaquille O’Neal.
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