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Where do you start with the design process when developing a new collection?
And why that first?
I start by soaking in the atmosphere. It’s very important to have a sense of what’s
going on in the world that we live in, a keen awareness of what’s transpiring, the
mood. And that’s where I begin. I always try to figure out which moment I am in, and,
so, from that, what it is that defines the world of today.
How did you do that in your latest collection?
Well, I did a collection based on counting and on zero waste. I tend to everything at
the same time, so there’s no separation. The essential thing is to arrive at how you
feel about the season and the general mood and how you believe your clients are
feeling—they’re the people that you dress. And based on that understanding, I do
everything: Sometimes I make the pattern, sometimes I drape, sometimes I sketch,
sometimes I work with the fabric. Even though by then a lot of the fabric selection
has been made, there’s still time to tweak it.
Do you consider fashion an art form? A craft? And why?
I consider fashion a design discipline. You take raw materials and you convert them
into a finished garment, and the prerequisite, if it’s clothing design, is that it be
wearable. So it’s a design discipline. It’s neither an art form nor a craft—you have
to design something that has a function.
Did you have a mentor in the fashion industry?
No.
Have you assumed the role of mentor for someone else?
Sometimes, but I don’t assume the role. I think that if somebody were to approach
me, I would have a conversation with them and try to get a dialogue going about
whatever it is that they’re interested in discussing. But I don’t assume the role
because I think that’s a little presumptuous.
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PERSPECTIVES: YEOHLEE TENG
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What brought you into fashion?
Actually, I was always interested in how costume/clothing and headgear affects perception
and body movement. You can influence people by what you wear and how you move in it, and I
found that aspect fascinating. When I was in school, I did a lot of plays; you had to think about
character and about how to assess the character in the costume. Then, too, I was always
aware of the supernatural power of a lot of fabric: When you have a lot of fabric it’s very im-
posing—and a tall headdress is dominating.
What should a designer understand about the business of fashion first and foremost?
Make something useful. If you’re a clothing designer (“clothing,” “fashion,” I use the terms
interchangeably, so one does not negate the other), if you’re a fashion designer, your medium
is clothing, right? And if you’re going to make clothes, you might as well make clothes that are
useful, clothes with a sense of purpose. Why would you do anything other than that? It doesn’t
make any sense, particularly today when time is of the essence. If your clothes are not func-
tional, you’re just wasting everybody’s time, including your own.
How important is the world of architecture to your creative process? How do you interpret and
apply architectural principles to structures that surround the human body in a more intimate
way, to clothing?
Architecture is definitely a source of inspiration. Sometimes it’s serendipitous. I was working
on my Fall 2005 collection, which had some flourishes and details that I didn’t realize were
Spanish-influenced. Then I went to Mexico City and saw Luis Barragán’s house. And I discov-
ered a real connection between the mood of his house, especially his use of color and shape,
to the collection I was already working on. So that happened by chance. On the other hand, I
was in L.A. and I visited the Schindler House, which is known architecturally as one of the first
modern houses. And the thing that had the most impact on me was the reduction of materials.
It was concrete, wood, and glass. I drew upon that simplicity and made a collection for Spring
2007 that was completely reduced. I think I used maybe five different fabrics, the predominant
color of which was white. And also Schindler had devised this process of pouring concrete and
then having the concrete hoisted up to form the walls. So within the collection I made clothes
that were “hoisted” onto the body, resonating with Schindler’s construction technique.
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What do you think fashion education programs should include in their curriculum to best pre-
pare designers looking to enter the market?
Practical training and good internship programs for credit.
How does the issue of sustainability affect your design process?
Zero waste, absolute economy in fabric and execution, is at the core of my philosophy of the
design process.
What role does pop culture and celebrity play in your work if any?
Pop culture and lifestyle trends always have an influence over design decisions. Personally, for
my take on celebrity culture please refer to Galaxy Quest, which spoofs Star Trek. It’s hilarious.
We’re a culture that celebrates people who pretend to be other people who may be far more
competent than the people who are doing the pretending. That’s what the movie is about and
that’s what celebrity culture is about. You know you’re enamored of the roles they play, not
necessarily of the individuals, you know they have a particular skill, but that’s about the size
of it.
Your clothes have a reputation for being comfortable and low maintenance in addition to being
developed in innovative ways. How would you describe how you built that into your brand and in
what ways do you connect with your customer through it?
It’s a guiding principle. Comfortable and low maintenance, ready for a quick getaway. You re-
ally want your clothes to be efficient, to work hard for you. You don’t want to have to think a
lot when you get up in the morning and get dressed. And yet the women that I dress generally
have active working lives and contribute to society with what they do and are decision mak-
ers. So I try to support them by making clothes that are efficient, practical, and versatile—in
respect of their twenty-first-century lifestyle.
What advice would you give designers starting their career or a business?
Yes, you can.
Have you diversified your design work (costume design, licensing, lifestyle products, etc.)?
If so, how?
My design philosophy pervades everything that I do. I use sound as an environment for the
collections. I’ve done a little bit of costume design. I’ve designed rugs. But my primary focus
is clothing.
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How would you describe your work?
Clarity and preciseness speak legions about my work. My work is always very spare, very
concise, and very to the point. And I try to do things in a way that that becomes a signature.
How do you strike a balance between the theatre of the runway and the reality of retail?
By taking a shot at both. For me, theatrical and functional, it’s the same thing. I refuse to
make clothes that you cannot wear. The subway is a theatre of everyday life. For the Spring
2005 show, we were literally under the tents at Bryant Park in the metro station. It was Sep-
tember. We had to deal with the station the way it was: The trains were coming and going;
there was no lighting, no air conditioning. We staged it at my loft, and I bused over all the
models, who were “real people.” I had many illustrious women, a very diverse cast, in age and
everything else. The MTA had printed one subway ride Metrocard with our invitation on the
back. So if you lived in Brooklyn and were coming to my show, you could have taken the train
right to it. What we were going to do about the music was really a puzzle. And then one night
at the 34th Street station I ran into these guys playing buckets, and they wouldn’t stop; I saw
a sign—$10 for a CD—I picked it up and called them and they came up and I hired them. The
whole experience was amazing, though it was really hot. I remember all my PR people at the
end of the show, they were soaked. But each one of them said that they wouldn’t have given
it up for anything.
Overleaf Left to right, Yeohlee, Spring 2007, inspired by R. M. Schindler’s Studio House, West Hollywood;
Fall 2007, inspired by the designs of Antoni Gaudí; Fall 2008, inspired by imagining the Shakers
in SANAA’s New Museum, New York; and Spring 2009, inspired by Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la
Villette, Paris. Photographs by Dan Lecca.
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