Yuna Yang is the founder and fashion designer of the YUNA YANG COLLECTION.Photo provided by Yuna Yang
Yuna Yang is the founder and fashion designer of the YUNA YANG COLLECTION.Photo provided by Yuna Yang

Starting a new career not directly related to one’s major could be challenging, as one has to start learning from scratch. However, Yuna Yang, an Ewha graduate of painting major, has been leaving significant marks through such decisions. As a fashion designer and founder of the YUNA YANG COLLECTION, Yang has been featuring her aesthetic collections starting in New York and expanding worldwide.

 

After graduating from Ewha, Yang took a flight to Italy solely to study Italian, expecting to return to Korea in half a year. However, this plan took a turn one ordinary day at an espresso bar in Milan, when Yang ran into an elderly woman who turned out to be an artist working at the atelier of the luxury fashion brand Valentino.

 

Realizing that fashion could also be art, Yang took a short course at Instituto Marangoni, one of the world’s top fashion schools located in Milan, and shortly afterwards, studied at Central Saint Martins, one of the most prestigious arts and design colleges in London. After graduation, Yang naturally entered the fashion industry, gained experience, and eventually founded her own brand in 2010.

 

Yang can still vividly picture the day of her 2010 debut show in New York. It had been less than a year since her arrival in the United States to start her brand; however, she was fearless enough to take a shot. Fortunately, her collection received recognition and was featured on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily, the fashion magazine equivalent of the Wall Street Journal.

 

Only within six years of founding her own brand, Yang attended the Met Gala, a fundraising event for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume, as a designer of a senior model Maye Musk, who is widely known as Elon Musk’s mother.

 

The theme of the Met Gala 2016 was fashion in an age of technology, for which Yang predicted that most of the designers would adopt silver- or gold-colored materials, linking technology with the universe or spacesuits. However, Yang took a different direction. Given the fact that Musk had been working as a model for decades, it occurred to Yang that Musk’s life itself was already future-oriented.

 

Instead of devising a typical evening dress, Yang designed a jumpsuit in the color royal blue, which is historically perceived as a color of victory in Western countries. The dress and Yang herself gained much attention on the night of the gala, which became a turning point for Musk as well.

 

Just as she had her fruitful days, Yang also went through unpleasant times. Even though her brand focuses on high-end garments, since most Korean fashion brands are comprised of streetwear or sportswear, she sometimes heard remarks questioning her knowledge of high-end clothes. Nevertheless, she did not make a big deal of it and proved again that she could go beyond everyone’s expectations.

 

Yang’s collections contain different undertones related to social issues such as feminism, interKorean topics, and body consciousness. To her, fashion is more than simply an affection for clothing, but rather a way of keeping pace with the current generation and reinterpreting contemporary issues into clothes. On that note, her recent interest has been in improving sustainability.

 

“With the prevalence of fast fashion, consumers buy more clothes, throwing away a lot as well,” she said. “Seeking ways to produce less clothing yet still giving people the joy of dressing themselves up is my biggest challenge these days.”

 

During an interview about her collection called Save the Earth with American broadcast television and radio network National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Yang emphasized the importance of sustainable fashion. She was not hesitant to open up about how the fashion industry is throwing out too much clothing, which accelerates the deterioration of the environment.

 

For those who wish to work in the fashion industry, Yang advised pursuing even a small opportunity instead of just thinking about it.

 

“Figuring out what people love and proposing new designs to the audience are exciting and priceless experiences,” she said. “Even if you cannot fully finish what you started, compiling those moments and recreating them into your own story will help you achieve your dream.”

 

The title of her autobiography“Fearless” reflects Yuna Yang's bold decisions that she has made throughout her life.Photo provided by Yuna Yang
The title of her autobiography“Fearless” reflects Yuna Yang's bold decisions that she has made throughout her life.Photo provided by Yuna Yang

 

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