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By Ruby O'Reilly

Eunice Lee has spent a large portion of her life in New York City. She attended the Parsons school of design and after graduation began designing for a number of large corporations. She did this for 6 years, eventually landing a position at Donna Karan designing for DKNY's menswear line.  Eventually Eunice created her very own brand called, UNIS. She opened her first boutique store in nolita in 2000 and it has since became a sort of signature of the neighborhood. In 2010, Lee was nominated for best menswear designer in America by the CFDA and she remains a member of the CFDA. Most recently, she has opened another boutique in Los Angeles where she spends a lot of her time. Her major focus fashion-wise, is in high quality well-made basics.

https://cfda.com/members/profile/eunice-lee
https://www.complex.com/style/2012/05/10-asian-american-fashion-designers-you-should-know/eunice-lee

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By Claire Renaud
Dao-Yi Chow was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens and is one-half of the design duo behind the brand Public School. He met Maxwell Osborne while working at the Sean John label in the 2000's and they would later collaborate together to create Public School.  The signature style of the brand is,  "layered, monochrome men’s wear, clothes that added tailoring to familiar slouchy elements of athletic and urban wear, rejiggering them as a new kind of masculine uniform.". Neither men had formal design training but the clothes were very well received and they were inducted into the Council of Fashion Designer's of America in 2010.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/new-york-cool-dkny-public-school-dao-yi-chao-maxwell-osborne.html

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by Gloria Ostagne

Jason Wu is a Taiwanese-Canadian artist and fashion designer. He was born in Taiwan, however he grew up in Vancouver. He attended Parsons where he majored in fashion design. His first collection launched in 2003..He is currently based in Nyc and his brand produces ready to wear pieces, accessories as well as fragrances.  He is known for designing for former first lady Michelle Obama and has won the Fashion Group International's rising star award in 2008.

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By Emma Ike

Adrian Tomine is a Japanese American contemporary cartoonist, best known for his comic book series Optic Nerve and for illustrations in The New Yorker magazine. Growing up, he was fixated on Spider-Man and Indiana Jones comics and began publishing work at the age of sixteen. Later, his focus shifted from super heroes to “alternative-underground” comics which told life-like narratives. Tomine’s early work generally veered away from Asian-American issues, but his newest graphic novel, “Shortcomings”, fully grapples with themes of being Asian-American in dominantly white-male society. His portrayals, or lack of, racialized identities has been met with both criticism and praise. Tomine’s content is difficult to categorize as “Asian-American”, complicating our conventional vision of what Asian American art and
literature should look like. By allowing his personal interests to guide his work, Tomine has liberated other Asian American creatives from questioning their identities based on their degree of representing what Tomine calls, “Then my parents came to America."

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By Adena von Hahn

Hiroko Takeda is a Japanese American textile designer based in Brooklyn, New York. She creates woven textile sculptural pieces which are hung in many building lobbies. Some  of her clients include Victoria Hagan, Calvin Klein and Peter Marino.
Her career began in Japan, where she learned the Mingei style of domestic textile weaving in Kyoto. Later she studied at the Royal College of Art in London. Her work emphasizes the beauty of yarn and the technical style of English weaving.

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By Courtney Georgalas

Masaharu Morimoto is a very well-known chef on the Japanese cooking show, Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. He is well known for his Japanese dishes and presenting them in unique ways. He was taught his skills in Hiroshima, Japan in the 1970s-80s. And soon opened a restaurant there. Becoming more popular, he decided to sell his restaurant and travel to the United States, specifically Manhattan. In NYC, he was a chef at many prestigious restaurants. Some included, The SONY corporations executive chef and head chef at the Japanese restaurant Nobu. He soon got the gig on the show, Iron Chef. This greatly expanded his career allowing him to open up many of his own restaurants. http://ironchefmorimoto.com

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By Yu Ting Zhu
Phillip Lim is an American fashion designer of Chinese descent whose parents immigrated to America from Thailand during the Cambodian Genocide. His mother was seamstress and his father a professional poker player—before immigrating to the United States, Phillip Lim is a key figure in New York’s wave of Asian-American designers. He has been vocal in addressing the "Made in China" stigma, and proudly produces his label in China as he hopes to shift the stereotype that clothing produced in the mainland is synonymous with poor quality.

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Phillip Lim talks about 'Made in China' stigma and being Chinese

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The Asian American designer feels a strong connection to China and wants to change the stereotypical view of manufacturing in the country as poor-quality

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Lily Kwong was originally a model who went on to pursue landscaping. She is the founder of Lily Kwong Studios, a landscape design studio. Her mission is to reconnect people and their urban environments with nature. Her work focuses on using and incorporating lush greenery and foliage into structures such as hotels and residential areas. She hopes to bring back a sense of harmony between not only people and their environment but also people with other people. Kwong has a degree in urban studies and combines her fascination for the clockwork of cities and her passion for plants to create designs that will make the world a greener and brighter place.

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By Valeriya Romashchenko

Hyden Yoo is a Korean-American designer, he was born in Seoul and grew up in Houston, Texas. Yoo studied biology at the University of Chicago in hopes of becoming a doctor, but instead, he explored different variations of jobs; he worked as a retail sales and management consultant, and fitness trainer, and hoped to find a career where his heart belongs. After participating and winning at the show “Fear Factor,” at that time he knew that his dream is to become a fashion designer. After moving to New York, Yoo invested his winning money into his goal and started a fashion label in 2008. Yoo's line became known for his khaki pants, knitwear, dress shirts, and outerwear. In 2014, Hyden Yoo moved to Venice, California where he opened his first fashion boutique.

I was lucky to participate as a model in Hyden Yoo’s Fashion Presentation in February 2011. I worked with his team for about a year, and I received a great experience working for his brand as a fit model.

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No one can accuse New York based designer of being conventional. From his unusual first foray into the public eye as a contestant (and champion) on a now infamous reality TV show, to his counter-culture inspired designs which have earned him major praise throughout the industry, Yoo has always taken the road less traveled.

This non-conformist spirit and creative energy was palatable during his Fall 2011 presentation, which was staged as a private party at the Soho House with a serious lost-weekend vibe, and remains one of the best collections we've seen at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week thus far.

Now, as the Fall 2011 peices are finally hitting stores, and the designer prepares to unveil another iconoclastic collection the designer took a moment to chat with SW about inspiration, style, and doing it his way.
SW: As its been well documented in previous interviews, your path to fashion as a career deviated from the usual route of school/major label internship/go out on your own. In fact, your path included everything from competing on a reality TV show, to working as a business consultant. So what was it that brought you to fashion as a career? How did you know it was what you were meant to do?
HY: I always liked clothing. It was something I always bought when I had money saved or something that I bought for friends and family as a gift. Well, I'm still not sure it's something that I was meant to do because it doesn't come naturally for me. I just really like what I do, and I work really hard at it.
SW: Before officially launching your women's collection for Spring 2010, you had a successful menswear line for several seasons. What prompted you to expand your brand into the women's wear market, was it something that you had always planned on doing?
HY: Yes, I think moving into the women's market was a natural expansion for us. Sometimes I wonder if we jumped the gun and started too early, but I think every season has gotten stronger and stronger, so I'm happy with where we're at.
SW: Fast Forward to your Fall 2011 collection, which was inspired by Teddy Boy subculture in Britain in the 1950's; what is it about this particular time and cultural phenomenon that caught your attention? How did you know it was the direction you wanted to go in for your collection?
HY: Both girls and guys were so bad ass. I really liked that attitude they had, not giving a crap about anything. I think a lot of stuff has been done and redone in fashion, so we thought that having this edgy direction would help us stand out a little bit.
SW: What's next for Hyden Yoo, what is currently inspiring your creative direction? Any hints you'd like to share about your upcoming Spring 2012 collection, which we are all looking forward to seeing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York?
HY: You will have to see and try to guess. The collection has some romanticism, a slight hint of eroticism, and a dash of taboo. No hint here other than the fact that it's gonna be the jump off! It's going to be great. Our entire team has things in motion to make it an excellent presentation.

In the Bay Area the Hyden Yoo collection is available at ACRIMONY in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood. To shop the collection online please visit www.hydenyoo.com.
For more information about the designer, check out SW's coverage of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2011.

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swarchives.com - Fashion - Fashion Feature: Hyden Yoo

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No one can accuse New York based designer of being conventional. From his unusual first foray into the public eye as a contestant (and champion) on a now infamous reality TV show, to his counter-culture inspired designs which have earned him major praise throughout the industry, Yoo has always taken the road less traveled.

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By Jarrod Olson

Alexander Wang dropped out of Parsons School of Design as a fashion design students in 2014. Which is he started his own label. He became famous in 2008, after receiving the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund aware granting him $200,000. He was also announced Womenswear Designer of the Year and as the winner of Swiss Textiles. Alexander Wang did a collaboration with a jewelry designer which inspired him to work with chains. He loves using the color black and silver accents. Almost all of his collections throughout the years have been black. He is extremely inspirational to the asian community because he is one of the very few asian artists/designers who had made it in the United States. Alexander Wang's style remains true throughout all his collections; containing sportswear-inspired looks!

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By Olivia Ende

The designer the i found is Zang Toi. I had never heard of this designer before but wanted to research someone new that i had never heard of before. Zang Toi was born in a small village, Kuala Krai in Kelantan, Malaysia. At the age of 20 he moved to New York and studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design. In August 1989, he opened his atelier and soon after, U.S Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour featured Zang in March 1990 issue and was one of the first Asian designers championed by the renowned editor. Zang was also awarded the Mouton Cadet Young Designer of the Year which recognizes the top, young, U.S. designer of the year in 1990. After that his career skyrocketed. He was the new up and coming designer that everyone wanted. He has been featured in countless magazines and news articles, has dressed celebrities all across Hollywood and the red carpet. He has even created luxurious wardrobe for philanthropists and royalty including Melinda Gates and Saudi Princess Haifa Bandar Al Saud. Aside from design, Zang has made countless donations to the lance Armstrong foundation to help find a cure for cancer. After 28 years of being a successful designer Zang Toi opened up his first store on Lexington ave.

http://zangtoi.com/bio-2/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/zang-toi-nyfw-n424171

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By Carlina Mora

There are two important Asian American designers that I am familiar with: Vera Wang and Alexander Wang. They are both famous Asian American fashion designers but each owns their individual personal aesthetics. Vera Wang is famous for her wedding gown designs while Alexander Wang is known for his dark and edgy women's fashion designs.
Vera Wang is an important and influential figure in the fashion world.  She focused on creating beautiful, stylish, contemporary and sophisticated gowns that have a more affordable price point. Her goal was so that women who couldn’t afford the extravagant designer dresses of exclusive brands like Valentino, could still find the gown of their dreams for their weddings. Just like Vega, Alexander Wang is an important figure in the fashion industry. I recently read that his latest collection was inspired by his parents’ journey from China to the United States and how it has influenced his own experiences. He wants to tell his family’s story but also reconfigure the way fashion is sold.
I find it a bit comical that for a while I believed that they were related.

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When designer Alexander Wang released his latest collection, his goal was to not just tell his family's immigration story, but also to change how the fashion industry sold clothes.

So Wang did something unconventional: He hosted a show on June 3 - three months ahead of the next scheduled New York Fashion Week, which take place in February and September each year.

He also rebranded his company's logo and called his new release "Collection 1" instead of the typical "spring/summer" or "fall/winter."

"It's not a time of tradition, but innovation," Wang said. "Seasonality didn't feel relevant in terms of titling a collection by a season or showing as a part of a fashion week that was labeled under a specific season."

Because his label's peak sales are in June, Wang said it made sense to have a show that month and deliver the collection by the end of October. "Collection 2" is scheduled to have a show in December, he added, and that pattern is expected go on in years to come.

Wang said he knew there would be risk involved with leaving New York Fashion Week and showing at a time when editors and influencers who usually attend their shows might not be present. But he was confident he could put together something special.

"We felt with social media and the way information is communicated, we could make this experience something that is truly unique for everyone there and for people that were live streaming it," Wang said. "I wanted it to feel like they were all sharing that moment together."

To inspire his first collection outside traditional timing, Wang looked at his parents' journey from China to the U.S. and how it was intertwined with his own experience.

Wang's parents, older brother, and older sister first came to the States in 1973 but didn't know a word of English, Wang said. They had come for his uncle's wedding and decided to establish a life in the country.

Everything from going to the grocery store and figuring out how how to shop for food to learning how to look for a job was a new experience for them, Wang added.

"They took on many different occupations just to work their way into society, from being a construction worker to working at a laundromat to owning their own restaurant together to starting their own business in plastic manufacturing," he said. "When they were getting settled, they brought in more family members, and then I was born 10 years later into a life that was different from their experience when they first came here."

The designs from this collection, which Wang describes as "immigrant Americana," combined his parents' experience with Wang's upbringing in the U.S., including references to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, rock 'n' roll, and football mixed with frog closures, Mandarin collars, and decorated surgical masks. The concept came from wanting to highlight his parents' journey fused with his love for Americana music, which Wang said he listened to growing up.

As part of his research, Wang took a road trip to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles with his parents - who are divorced - and siblings last year.

It was the first time that he heard the story about his parents' immigration.

"We hadn't taken a trip with just immediate family in over 20 years, and it was the perfect opportunity and setting for me to really interview my parents on their story about how they first arrived," Wang said. "It was so inspiring, but also new to me because, surprisingly, I had never asked them about it before."

The June event was also the first time his father attended one of his fashion shows and the first time his family was all together for a collection showing, which Wang said made it even more symbolic.

He added that he feels blessed to have a platform where he's able to share his story as an American with immigrant roots as well as show his collection during a time when he feels change is important.

"I wanted to take the idea of my roots and put it into all these things - a singular narrative that felt very much true to who I am today," Wang said.

"Hopefully this will be a move toward something that will help the industry think about how we approach seasons, collections and shipping things because it does need some revamping," he added. "And it's exciting to be a part of a time where we can do something different."
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Alexander Wang based his latest collection on his family's immigration story

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When designer Alexander Wang released his latest collection, his goal was to not just tell his family's immigration story, but also to change how the fashion industry sold clothes. So Wang did something unconventional: He hosted a show on June 3 - three months ahead of the next scheduled New York Fashion Week, which take place in February and September each year.

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By Kyunghee Pyun

She is a
famous wedding dress designer with a boutique in New York City. She is inspiring as a successful business leader.