Future Stars of Fashion: Luly Yang SOMA Magazine
Please see full article here -
Seattle – Phrases like: “High-End design,” “Couture,” and “Fashion-Forward” aren’t usually the first words to pop into mind. Not the second either. Words and visions like: “Green,” “Jimi Hendrix,” and “Rain” flit across the psyche more readily. Beautiful scenery and whatnot, but beautiful dresses? Not so much.
Enter Luly Yang. A passionately creative designer from a long line of artists – mainly engineers and architects, Luly being one of the latter for 10 years, with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Washington and a daily grind that was highly visual but not so “fashion.”
In 1999, the dress that put Yang on the fashion map and the dress that she is most well known for, The Monarch dress was conceptualized and created. Luly Yang: The Business soon followed.
“It was during my ten year career in Architecture that my love for fashion design manifested,” Yang muses. “While designing and creating what would be my iconic gown, The Monarch dress, the process of designing this dress reminded me of my love and passion for fashion and I started my business shortly thereafter.”
With a philosophy of design that strives to marry art form with function, it really is all about the dresses. Specializing in bridal, evening and cocktail attire, her graphic design background is apparent in visually exhilarating colors and details. Movement and weightlessness seem to be threaded throughout Luly Yang designs and it’s a perfect balance between classically streamlined silhouettes and glamorously of-the-moment additions. At once timeless and familiar, but punched up with bright colors and prints each dress is an artistic expression that leaves one feeling a little jealous of all the customers that Yang is designing custom gowns for.
As Yang puts it, ‘Fashion is an intimate art form that touches each person in a special way. Good design can bring out social and environmental change. Being surrounded by beautiful things evokes positive emotions. This in turn encourages us to live better and be better.”
Using each client as a current inspiration mixed in with childhood dreams of flying, global cultures and the ocean, Yang’s designs share the same celebration of female form as her iconic predecessors: Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Christian Dior. Already with a number of local features and awards in her repertoire – ‘‘Excellence Award’ by Metropolitan Fashion Show and the ‘Timeless Award’ from the University of Washington both earlier this year – she only has more to offer for the future of Luly Yang Couture. Keep a look out for her this Spring, debuting her new collection in Seattle in April and San Francisco in May. There’s a limited edition shoe and handbag collection hand-in-hand with this as well. And if you need to see new Luly Yang faster than that, there’s a small Holiday collection of limited edition cocktail dresses just around the corner.
From sweet Taiwan girl to fashionista Seattl-ite, there’s definitely more to expect from Luly Yang.
lulyyang.com Photos by Team Photogenic