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"I was the punk rock geisha," she says with a big smile, as if that explains everything.

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Maggie Barry, circa 1981, was studying design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, while working as a doorwoman at Studio 54. Her other odder job was that of a geisha at a popular, low-lit Japanese bar. "I was the punk rock geisha" she says with a big smile, as if that explains everything.

Then, in 1989, Barry moved to Los Angeles, and on one prophetic day, as she strolled around the Rock'n'Roll Ralphs in a pink and zebra-striped leather jacket of her own design, Poison heartthrob Bret Michaels approached and offered to buy the clothes off her back. That was the start of Van Buren, her leather-based, bondage-inspired line ripe for the era of big hair, loud cars, and lots of skin. Barry's sister and creative partner for 15 years, Carolyn, still laughingly recalls the music videos they styled for Vanilla Ice, Jody Whatley, Adam Ant...

Fast forward to present-day Silver Lake, where Barry keeps a modest studio in which she designs three unique lines: Maggie Barry Black Label, a collection of eclectic cocktail dresses, Maggie Barry Collection, a more modern and sporty women's line, and BarryMoore, a men's collection created with good friend Lee Moore.

"We like to do unexpected things here," says Barry, explaining her range. "You never know what will inspire a different direction."