Dreams come from the East
Suzy Menkes, Style Editor of the International New York Times, scrolls through student profiles at the largest Academy of Art and Fashion in the United States: Academy of Art University, located in San Francisco.
“14 of the 19 students who will graduate during the year have places of birth in Beijing, Seoul, Toyota City*, Taipei, Bangkok, Chongqing, Ho Chi Minh…”.
The San Francisco Art Institute recorded that of its 16,153 students, including more than 4,000 students studying via the Internet, 25% were Asian students.
Central Saint Martins’ creative learning environment
In 2002, there were only two Chinese students studying fashion design at one of the oldest art and design schools in America, Parsons, but by the end of 2012, the number was 80. Year
“Parsons is a global brand… We are now developing study programs tailored to each geographic region,” shares Simon Collins, Head of Fashion at Parsons.
China Daily said that the number of applications sent by Chinese students to fashion courses at the Pratt Institute in the US has tripled in the past three years (from 21 applications in 2010 to 74 applications).
L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne is one of France’s oldest fashion schools that also records a significant number of Asian students.
Japanese-born designer Issey Miyake and his design team at the studio (Photo: Tetsuya Miura)
Designs by Issey Miyake
“Of about 210 students, 60% are international students,” said Olga Saurat, the school’s principal.
Another famous fashion school in Paris is Esmod, founded in 1841. Every year, about 1,000 fashion students graduate from Esmod and enter the fashion industry.
In the last five years, Asian students have replaced students from Africa and the Arab world, becoming the largest international student body in Esmod.
Chung Woo Lee, daughter of famous Korean fashion designer, Lee-Young Hee, also attended Esmod, a Korean institution when decided to join her mother’s fashion company.
Hanbok models by famous fashion designer Lee-Young Hee
Talent and Ethics
Are the above-mentioned numbers and facts a strong sign that young Asians are gradually transforming themselves from consumers of Western high-end fashion into fashion creators from Asia and transforming
Joanne Arbuckle, dean of the Department of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, says she doesn’t say it’s all, however, she sees Asian students “always working on two things: talent
And yet, Asian fashion students, while still considered more ambitious than European students, now tend to be more practical.
From left: Famous Asian designers Haizhen Wang, Huishan Zhang, Anna Sui, Ethan Koh
Endless source of inspiration
Although it is heavily exploited in designs year after year, Asia is still an endless source of inspiration in design as each country brings its own culture, relatively different from each other and far different from other cultures.
In an interview with the New York Times, Anna Sui, a graduate designer from Parsons, said that after a visit to Singapore, she found inspiration in Peranakan culture, a blend of Chinese cultural influences and Malay culture.
Designer Anna Sui at her home
Anna Sui’s designs are inspired by Peranakan culture
And Huishan Zhang, a 31 year old designer who graduated from Central Saint Martins and was chosen by Delphine Arnault to work at LVMH Moet Hennessy before graduating, has brought Cultural Revolution-era Chinese inspiration into his design.
Designer Huishan Zhang, graduated from the `talent training factory` Central Saint Martins
Mao Suit design by Huishan Zhang
Designs by Huishan Zhang
Another example comes from Ethan Koh, a Singaporean designer who also graduated from Central Saint Martins, who is behind the brand Ethan K. Three years ago, Ethan started his brand with just £3,000 of money borrowed from his father.
Ethan’s inspiration comes from the tropical fruits of Asia.
Bags from the brand Ethan K. sold in Harrod or Harvey Nichols stores in Dubai are priced from £2,200;
Ethan Koh and his bags amounted to several thousand pounds
Haizhen Wang, a former student of Central Saint Martins, told CNN: “Even if you don’t see obvious oriental patterns like dragons for example, in every design of my, there is still a Chinese man
Haizhen Wang recently won the Fringe fashion award for young designers and was mentored by Christopher Bailey himself.
Designer Haizhen Wang with Christopher Bailey – Creative Director of Burberry
Spring-Summer 2013 designs by Haizhen Wang
Peranakan culture, the modern history of China or the tropical fruits… are just some of the pure Asian inspirations, distilled from the blood and Asian aesthetics of born and bred designers.
And when they have all of that, as a matter of course, nothing stops them from making a place in the world fashion industry!
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