Spotlight is a regular series where we feature a prominent person in the style scene. This month we speak with Yang Fang, designer and founder of by FANG.
After studying in France, fashion designer Yang Fang returned to her home country to establish her own label, by FANG, in 2013. Since then, Yang’s deep appreciation for traditional craftsmanship has become her signature style, and handcrafted origami elements and feminine lines are commonly featured in her couture and ready-to-wear collections. We caught up with her to see how the experience of becoming a mother has inspired her latest work.
How would you describe your style of design?
Artistic and minimalistic. Less is often more when it comes to design. Being able to simultaneously develop a couture line (Atelier by FANG) and a ready-to-wear line (by FANG) puts an emphasis on delicate craftsmanship that requires great attention to details, and uniqueness and elegance are achieved with these fine details.
Tell us about the SS18 collection, and how your newborn baby has inspired the design.
It is a very special and personal collection. I worked on it shortly after giving birth to my first baby girl, Maeli. As a woman and a mom, there are very strong emotions involved in this moment in my life, and this collection is strongly influenced by this special energy.
You also mentioned that the new collection reminds you of your bond with your mother. Is there an example that best illustrates this?
The floral, garden-inspired pattern designed for this collection brings back memories of the many holidays spent in our family house. My mom and I would spend hours playing and talking outside, and there were these giant butterflies around us all the time.
What’s the experience of working on the Asia Swarovski Collective like?
FW18 was our sixth consecutive season collaborating with Swarovski. I really enjoy this partnership because it offers unlimited creative freedom, and there are so many intriguing elements to play with. There is also a perfect connection between Swarovski crystals and our style of design and respect for craftsmanship.
Between your couture and ready-to-wear collections, what elements of the design process do you enjoy most?
Couture and ready-to-wear are very different animals, but I feel very lucky to be able to work on both. Where design is concerned, couture is a more intimate process with a lot of freedom and time to create, while ready-to-wear is a faster process with more functional and commercial constraints. I enjoy finding a bridge between the two, which is something we like to describe to as ‘couture à porter.’ The ideal situation is to have both lines complement each other by sharing a common design ethic and brand DNA.
Are you working on anything new at the moment? What are your plans for the rest of 2018?
We just released the second season of our collaboration with [lingerie label] Sangluo. Most of our focus now is on the Atelier by FANG Couture ‘Maison,’ which we just opened in January in the former French Concession. We are still in soft opening and fine-tuning some decoration details, but the space is pretty amazing. We also have more big projects in the pipeline near the end of this year, including a by FANG flagship store in Shanghai.
For more Spotlight posts, click here. Find out more about by FANG here.
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