When I decided to get married at 40, I couldn’t find a dress with the modernity or sophistication I wanted. That’s when I saw the opportunity for a wedding gown business.
Design is about point of view, and there should be some sort of woman or lifestyle or attitude in one’s head as a designer.
As the mother of two daughters, I have great respect for women. And I don’t ever want to lose that.
Even the most understated ceremony involves a certain respect for ritual and pageantry. No one plays more of a significant role than the bride’s attendants.
When you have a passion for something then you tend not only to be better at it, but you work harder at it too.
I’m a late riser by my family’s standards. Sleeping is a luxury because since I was young, I woke up very early to go ice-skating. So I’m really not a morning girl.
I do speak Mandarin, and I also relate to the hunger that China has for culture and architecture and style.
When I design a wedding dress with a bustle, it has to be one the bride can dance in. I love the idea that something is practical and still looks great.
I love to design things that people can actually buy. I’m staggered by what a boot costs today.
My closet is organized by tops, pants, and outerwear, but not a lot of dresses. Gowns are in another room because I don’t often dress formally, even though I design gowns. Like most designers, I have a uniform, and mine is a legging.
All those years of skating and dancing have carried over. I can’t design anything without thinking of how a woman’s body will look and move when she’s wearing it.
I like the gritty parts of fashion, the design, the studio, the pictures.
Let’s be realistic, how many people are buying a $2,000 skirt? I love to design things that people can actually buy. I’m staggered by what a boot costs today.
I always see where I didn’t do things the right way. I only see the heavy lifting. That’s a bit of my wisdom, if you want to call it that.
Success isn’t about the end result, it’s about what you learn along the way.
To me, eyewear goes way beyond being a prescription. It’s like makeup. It’s the most incredible accessory. The shape of a frame or the color of lenses can change your whole appearance.
I wanted to define the vocabulary of a wedding both visually and intellectually. The book is about more than weddings or wedding dresses. It’s a metaphor for women’s lives, their creativity.
There was no relationship between a wedding dress and fashion. There was no good taste, either. I realized that I could make an impression in terms of changing and readdressing the whole industry of bridal.