Meet designer Szana Marr of VerZa.
Szana Marr, who pronounces her name “like Reneé, but with Z like zebra,” wears her trademark flowy skirt in a leopard pattern with a fitted black tank and sleek jacket. She appears both comfortable and chic, meeting the objective of her fashion line, VerZa.
Marr credits her grandmother for her sense of style. She and her mother lived with her maternal grandmother, Dottie, in Sarasota where Marr learned invaluable style tips such as pinning clothing for better fit, wearing classic accessories (brooches were a favorite), shopping for secondhand treasures and taking photos. As she moved into young adulthood, fashion design called her name, yet Marr opted for a career in real estate for the sake of stability.
An agent since 2004, Marr continued nurturing her love for style on the side, even as she found success as a real estate broker. She sold clothing on Poshmark and eBay, and enjoyed the experience, but buyers were clamoring for more of her selections beyond what she kept for inventory. “It pushed me to finally design my own clothing,” she says.
A wrap skirt that Marr purchased on a 2023 beach vacation in Cartagena, Colombia, served as the inspiration. “It was pretty and flowy, and I wore it everywhere,” she says. “So I recreated it in a longer, wrinkle-free version. It’s similar to the wrap skirt I originally bought, but I increased the length, added a pocket, changed the strap and improved it quite a bit.”
Since January 2025, Marr’s unique wrap “ZaZa” skirt, patent pending, has grown in popularity. The skirt is dry fit and wrinkle-free, and it can be worn more than 10 ways, from a skirt to a dress to a shirt. “It’s a giant piece of fabric, and you decide how you want to wrap it yourself,” she says.
Shoppers can choose from black, classic leopard and silk animal print. Though she started with medium and large sizes, Marr soon expanded from extra small to 3X because “the skirt looks good on everyone.” Newcomers to the brand can find various ways to tie and wear the ZaZa on social channels or the company website, and many fans submit photos to be posted with the headline “Pretty in ZaZa.”
Marr says the skirt solves multiple wardrobe problems: It’s a staple piece requiring easy care, yet you can wear it to dinner or to an event. “It reduces [being overwhelmed] about getting dressed,” she says. “I kept getting stuck about what to wear, and I don’t always have time to go shopping.”
Marr intends to design new pieces under the VerZa brand in the future, all bearing her style philosophy that clothing should solve wardrobe woes and be easy, comfortable and flattering.
“My checkmarks for everything will be versatility, whether it’s in the ways to wear it or the places you can wear it, plus functionality, comfort and boldness. My grandmother always said, ‘If you look your best and feel pretty, you can do anything you want to do.’”
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STORY: Denise K. James
