The Mojo of Music featuring Zippy Laske
When Sara Brownson, aka Zippy Laske walks on stage, the first thing you notice isn’t just her voice, it’s her presence. The way her outfit moves, the thought in every texture and color, all sewn into the quiet confidence that says the music you’re about to hear is more than sound, it’s a reflection of the person wearing it. Mojo doesn’t exist without the music supporting the look and the look supporting the music. Clothing has always been more than fabric for Sara. It’s a living language that tells stories about where she’s been, who she’s become, and how she wants her audience to feel.
Sara grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, a place not exactly known for its cutting-edge fashion scene. “I was always attracted to older clothing,” she recalls. “My mom and siblings used to say I never matched and could never wear a normal outfit.”
As a kid she found inspiration not in malls or magazines, but in her grandmother’s closet. Racks of vintage sweaters and well-loved garments felt rich with history. “Maybe I was a little wacky,” she laughs, remembering her early love for anything unusual.
Her childhood wardrobe was largely hand-me-downs from an older sister that was 4 inches shorter than her with a naturally petite build. This meant that what was handed down to Sara never quite fit right. They all were always a little too tight. But that imperfection, that feeling of making do, sparked a lifelong habit of experimentation. She was learning to remix and reimagine what was given to her, a theme that would echo in both her music and her style.
At an early age Sara was driven across North Dakota and Minnesota to perform at churches, county fairs, and local bars. Her mother would dress her for those performances. This meant often being dressed in classic country staples like jeans, boots, and long draped tank tops. Maybe even a cowboy hat if the gig called for it.
When she moved to St. Paul in 2009 to attend McNally Smith College of music, a new world opened up. Along with a richer community of music, venues, and nightlife, her style quickly evolved. She admits that in the early days of college her closet was just a heaping mound of dirty clothing and whatever she could find that was clean was her outfit.
“My roommates were so impeccably stylish. They just had the coolest styles and I was very inspired by them. It blossomed from there by realizing that dressing could be an art where I had never really thought of it that way before. I started to feel drawn to certain clothes and noticed how that elevates your presence and spirit. I started to get addicted to that feeling of finding things that feel more like me, my visual resonance and aesthetic frequency. And it's not that I wanted to copy my roommates, it's more like I saw how their style mirrored who they really were, and I wanted to find that for myself, figure out what style really mirrors who I am as a person.”
-Zippy Laske
That awakening coincided with her expanding musical identity, first as a frontwoman for a rock band The Gumsmackers, then as part of the EDM group Bionic Motion. “They were two different worlds,” she says. “In the rock band, I leaned into darker tones, blacks, boots with something edgier. In Bionic Motion, I played with color, pop, and fun. It felt more authentic to my bubbly nature.” Music and fashion were becoming intertwined forms of storytelling.
Then came another transformation: motherhood.
Sara shares that when you become a mother, one of the biggest hurdles is finding clothes that you fit into with your new body. She wasn’t just trying to figure out what to wear, but figuring out who you are now in this new identity. She also experienced a feeling of shame carrying along who she used to be into motherhood. Was she allowed to still be that person? How do you merge that person into who you’re becoming? She was trying to figure out how to look more grownup. This shift came with both humility and revelation.
Before motherhood she never gave much thought as to how bold of something she was wearing, like a shorter skirt or lower cut shirt. She felt very bold in who she was and wasn’t afraid to wear things like that. By stepping into motherhood, it brought her into a different state of mind that makes you consider other people now in the way that she dressed. This brought our more grandma vibes in her by getting into more sweaters, high-waisted pants, and more comfort forward functionality.
It was when Sara met stylist Lisa Marie Gheradini through a mutual friend, musician Chastity Brown, that she formed a creative collaborator for her new fresh project, Zippy Laske. Together, they began crafting an aesthetic that would match the emotional honesty of Zippy’s new self-titled project. “The inspiration wasn’t another artist,” Lisa explains, “It was her higher self.” The result is both nostalgic and forward-thinking, a harmony between innocence and experience, country and pop, softness and power.
“Zippy came to me in a place of metamorphosis. It was an opportunity for rebirth or a re-bloom as her lyrics go. After listening to her it was clear there was this dichotomy between an ancient wisdom as well as this very playful, youthful effervescence. Then we met at the top floor of Nordstroms where I had filled a dressing room with clothes from my collection as well as some choice retail options. The looks that were born that day solidified the aesthetic vibe I felt coming alive in her lyrics; like a young girl playing dress up in her grandmothers closet. I then accessorized this vision with rhythms of country and pop. With a strong blazer being the cherry on top!"
-Lisa Marie Gheradini
Lisa describes their visual language as a “marriage of the maiden and the matriarch.” It’s a concept they embodied fully during Zippy Laske’s self-titled EP release show last June at the Green Room. Zippy wanted the performance to feel like old-timey theatre. Across three acts she embodied different versions of herself with each costume marking a shift in emotion and identity, paired with music. Act one opened in soft white: a Juliet-like dress, ballet slippers, and gentle tendrils of fabric. This was the maiden phase representing innocence, playful, and purity. “Late Bloom” found a poignant spot in the setlist here, a prelude to the urge of change and getting rid of the old. The lyrics ‘late bloomers bloom when they’re ready’ repeating throughout the song is a strong reminder that stages and timing is all subjective.
At the center of the stage stood a mannequin dressed in a vintage peignoir, a 1950s gown with an elaborate train. Throughout the show, Zippy interacted with the mannequin, dressing and undressing it, using fashion as metaphor for transformation. The second act Zippy robed herself in that gown, a representation of motherhood and symbolizing protection, nurturing, and wisdom. Performing “Unexpected Joy”; a song about transformation, taking the heels off, and finding new appreciations of life, Zippy leaned into the more emotional portion of the set and transformation.
Act three saw Zippy reemerged in a black blazer, hot pants, and her signature cowboy boots. This act stepped into a more powerful role and took on the strength that comes after rebirth. The finale saw Zippy singing into a mirror, a song about letting go and self-acceptance. “That moment was liberating,” she says softly. “Taking off the blazer, redressing the mannequin with it, it was like saying goodbye to ego.”
Zippy’s new album is truly sewn together with her own renewed sense of style. “The High Dive” speaks almost hysterically about the realization that no one actually cares about what she does or doesn’t do. It’s a statement saying that she’s no longer going to be a victim of consumerism and just focus on living her own truth as a creator. “Inhibition” is an anthem that celebrates individuality and being able to let go. The symbolism of loosening a tie or taking off her heels, are lyrical pinpoints on how style and clothes have played a role in this new chapter of life.
(all photos from Green Room taken by Cori Miller Photography)
The first outfit channels that ‘little girl playing in grandma’s closet’ theme. Which ironically, is exactly where that sweater with bows on it came from. The black bubble hem skirt is from the early 2000’s that leans into a youthful look. Bubble hems have traditionally been seen in children’s clothing, but have been making a huge return for adults now.
The cowgirl boots have two different types of hearts on them. One is a little more subtle and interwoven into the top and rim, while the other heart is a pendant attached to the side. Lisa shares that the boots fit the spirit of Zippy’s music as she’s always singing from a place in her heart. Knowledge comes from the mind, and wisdom comes from the heart, so it’s her heart’s knowledge that is coming out. The analogy of literally walking in those hearts was a very symbolic element to her outfit and one in which they’ve continued to use as a running theme in many of her shows. The boots also provide a clever juxtaposition to the sweater and bubble skirt, adding that power piece to the full look. The earrings are Navajo sterling hearts, which matched the little hearts on the boots.
“It’s funny because people aren’t just wearing cowboy boots day to day in North Dakota. It’s something they wear when dressing up or going to a concert. They’re more of a dress up thing up there.”
“The biggest difference in my style, from now to even just a few years ago, is I trust myself now. I trust my intuition, and I feel confident to trust that what I like is good enough and I don't need to be validated through someone else thinking it's cool.”
-Zippy Laske
The second outfit solidifies the marriage of pop, power, and little girl giddiness starting with the Rene Lang blouse with intricate details that waterfall down the sleeves. The black bow is a gentle reminder that all little girls love bows and thematically ties into the first outfit featuring bows. Placing that ribbon under the collar gives it a subtle bolo country western effect as well.
The yellow dress with square cutouts continues to hint at that playfulness. Color theory also states that yellow is intelligent and warm, which also plays into the lyrical maturity and insight that Zippy’s music is all about.
Completing the outfit is patterned sheer stockings and what could almost be grandpa’s loafers. The way the outfit feels balanced between all the elements of vintage, modern, feminine, and powerful shaping of her form is a true representation of what mojo truly is. There is concentrated thought behind each piece, heritage behind the roots of the ideas, and then bold execution to support the music and songs of Zippy Laske.
Stylist Lisa Marie Gheradini offers some tips and tricks in finding the perfect blend of treasures here in the Twin Cities. There is a rich estate sale community where you can actually find vintage designer clothes for pennies on the dollar. Online at estatesales.org you can find so many of these during the Spring through Fall. Then there’s estate resale stores like Retro Wanderlust and a wealth of resale stores like June Resale in town that champion being environmentally green fashion.
In the end, Zippy Laske’s fashion evolution mirrors her artistry: raw, fearless, and ever-changing. From mismatched childhood outfits to curated visual storytelling, she has learned that clothing, like music, is energy. It vibrates at the frequency of who we are becoming. She thinks of her body as a canvas in which she’s always trying to make herself a better version to receive not just her own creations, but those of others. That desire to collaborate is another form of evolution.
That, perhaps, is Sara’s true aesthetic. Not a look, but a philosophy. An openness to growth, to color, to play, and to being, unapologetically, herself.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Zippy Laske and all the things we mentioned above.
Zippy Laske Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - Spotify - Stylist Lisa Marie Gheradini - Retro Wanderlust - Estate Sales - Cori Miller Photography
