Fashion

30 AAPINH Designers Who Shaped Fashion History

These new and established AAPINH talents are rewriting the rules of fashion.

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Photos via Getty Images.

Asia is the unsung hero of fashion. Historically, India was at the forefront of natural-dyed fabrics, supplying their sought-after textiles to an international market. For centuries, fashion drew unapologetic inspiration from Japan, borrowing from traditional Japanese motifs and kimono styles. With their production practices dating back millennia, the world looked to China for expertly woven silks. Although the nature of these influences has evolved over time, our reliance on Asian American and Pacific Islander ingenuity remains.

Despite May being AAPINH Heritage Month, we’re reflecting on Asian American and Pacific Islander fashion design, forever and always. From Issey Miyake's awe-inspiring creativity to the feminized streetwear of Kimora Lee Simmons, there are innumerable instances of AAPINH designers enriching the world of fashion. The following spotlights a new generation of AAPINH creatives and the legendary talents who paved their way.

Anna Sui

Detroit native Anna Sui is one of the many talents to emerge from New York’s Parsons School of Design. The second-generation Chinese American moved to the city in the ‘70s—a time when candy punk sounds by the Ramones and rock tracks by Blondie were shaping the cultural zeitgeist. Sui began sampling music, books, movies, art, and other pop cultural elements within her designs, birthing the designer’s effortlessly cool aesthetic that we know today. Marrying rock-and-roll with romance, Sui has ventured beyond garments and created her own design universe, from cosmetics to interiors.

AAPINH designers to know.
Rei Kawakubo

Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo pioneered avant-garde fashion with her Paris-based label Comme des Garçons. The French name translates to “like the boys”—a reflection of the designer’s feminist values. Warping garments with unmatched precision, Kawakubo upends femininity with subversive sensibilities. Hailed by many as fashion’s greatest artist, the designer has elevated fashion to high art with inventive sculptural garments. In fact, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held an entire exhibition highlighting her work in 2017, entitled, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between, which explored Kawakubo’s embrace of duality. Both absent and present, equal parts then and now, Kawakubo wrote the playbook for anti-fashion, consistently proving that beauty does not equal pretty.

AAPI designers to know.
Yohji Yamamoto

Speaking of anti-fashion, Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto was another pioneer of the movement. Since opening his first shop in the ‘80s, Yamamoto has demonstrated radical creativity through masterful construction and signature use of low-chroma colors. At a time when beauty meant polished to perfection, the designer went for an undone, deconstructed approach, frequently sending makeup-less models down the runway. Accredited as the father of Japanese street style, Yamamoto’s oversized silhouettes have played a heavy hand in shaping streetwear as we know it today.

AAPI designers to know.
Kimora Lee Simmons

You can’t describe the early aughts fashion without mentioning Kimora Lee Simmons. Merging body-conscious designs with hip-hop sensibilities, Simmons was among the first to celebrate women in streetwear. From velour tracksuits to bedazzled baby tees, Baby Phat garnered the admiration of music legends like Lil' Kim and Alicia Keys. Eventually becoming one of the first Black and Asian women to lead a billion-dollar company, Simmons made Y2K fashion a cultural phenomenon.

AAPINH designers.
Issey Miyake

Informed by technology, the late Issey Miyake pushed the boundaries of fashion with sculptural design in ways few ever have. For over 50 years since founding Miyake Design Studio in 1970, Miyake managed to reinvent the wheel every time—a testament to the designer’s measureless creativity. Accredited as the father of Japanese avant-garde design, Miyake’s androgynous work and origami-like pleating continues to inspire sartorial innovation.

AAPINH designers.
Sandy Liang

After graduating from the iconic Parsons School of Design in 2013, New York native Sandy Liang began her own namesake label. Although she initially rose to prominence for her viral leopard-print-and-neon fleece jacket in 2019, the designer has since then proven her tremendous creative range. Best described as downtown cool girl meets grandmother, Liang’s oversized coats, satin Mary Janes, and, most recently, expert use of bows have made the designer a mainstay throughout the Lower East Side and beyond.

AAPINH designers.
Joseph Altuzarra

Renowned fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra launched his New York-based brand in 2008. Raised by a French father and Chinese-American mother, Altuzarra’s multi-cultural influences are evident in his intelligent designs. Nuanced and feminine, Altuzarra tells stories through a range of fabrics, from burlap to velvet.

AAPINH designers.
Peter Do

Vietnamese-born Peter Do started his own brand after his time working for Phoebe Philo’s Céline. With a mission to deconstruct luxury fashion and build it up again, Do became famous for his clean cut tailoring and transparent ethos. Most recently, the designer was named creative director of contemporary label Helmut Lang, with his first collection for the brand set to release in the next several months.

AAPINH designers.
Supriya Lele

Indian-British designer Supriya Lele is an upcoming frontrunner in the London fashion scene. The 2020 LVMH Prize finalist garnered significant attention when shared her cash prize with the other seven finalists following the competition’s COVID-19 related cancellation. Since then, the designer has shown several contemporary collections that marry the delicacies of South Asian dress with the prim yet punk history of the UK. Most recently, Lele created a photo book with a description that best describes her design ethos: “a celebration of people, place, and the next generation of Indian girls.”

AAPINH designers.
Phillip Lim

Phillip Lim pioneered the concept of luxury designs at contemporary price points with the 2005 creation of his label, 3.1 Phillip Lim. Since then, the brand has gone global with three CFDA wins and 14 retail stores in London, the US, and across Asia. Lim laid the groundwork and continues to set the standard for contemporary creation.

AAPINH designers.
Jason Wu

Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, Jason Wu approaches themes of American sportswear with couture craftsmanship. Designing for the modern woman, it’s no surprise that his brand has attracted the interest of some of the world’s most influential women, including our former First Lady Michelle Obama.

AAPINH designers.
Laura Kim

Laura Kim launched New York-based luxury label Monse with her partner, Fernando Garcia, in 2015. Doubling as the co-creative director of Oscar de la Renta, Kim is no stranger to women’s tailoring. Her ability to make complex construction techniques appear effortless is just one of the many reasons Monse has become a modern classic in women’s wardrobes.

AAPINH designers.
Simone Rocha

Simone Rocha’s designs are anything but boring. Known for puff-sleeved dresses, tulle flounces, and crystal embroidery, Rocha’s edgy coquette collections have solidified her namesake label as an industry favorite. Rocha first debuted her subversively girlish designs at London Fashion Week in September 2010. In a little over a decade, Rocha’s London-based brand has received international acclaim, as evidenced by her highly coveted collaborations with high-street brand H&M and luxury outerwear label Moncler. With the breadth of her work ranging from printed books to furniture, Rocha constructs a whimsically dark world of fairytales.

AAPI designers to know.
Hanako Maeda

Japanese-American designer Hanako Maeda of Adeam is an East meets West take on wearable luxury. Elevating girlish “Kawaii” aesthetics with innovative design techniques, Maeda constructs a modern version of beauty.

AAPINH designers.
Guo Pei

Remember the iconic yellow gown Rihanna wore to the 2015 Met Gala “China: Through the Looking Glass”? That was Guo Pei. The Chinese fashion designer samples details from gothic fairytales, Chinese imperial court, and a whole host of fanciful influences. Her exquisite ornate gowns caught the attention of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, making Pei the first born-and-raised Asian designer to guest for the prestigious commission.

AAPINH designers.
Vera Wang

Best known for her wedding dresses, Chinese-American designer Vera Wang is a household name. She began her eponymous label in 1990 and shortly thereafter struck a chord with fashion’s elite. Before Wang, wedding dresses tended to look the same. The designer revolutionized bridal wear with her modern interpretation on classical silhouettes and has since then expanded to a successful line of ready-to-wear.

AAPINH designers.
Vivienne Tam

Designer Vivienne Tam has merged her Chinese background with Western style throughout her illustrious four-decade career. With a demonstrated eye for fusion, Tam has pioneered the intersection of fashion and technology, producing successful collaborations with megabrands like Google and Starbucks. Globally recognized for her “China Chic” designs, pieces from her collections permanently reside in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

AAPINH designers.
Kenzō Takada

In October, the fashion world grieved for the late Japanese design talent, Kenzō Takada. Throughout his career, Takada made bright prints, floral patterns, and jungle motifs a favorite within the Paris fashion scene and beyond. Takada’s joyful approach to design continues to live on through his global design brand, Kenzo.

AAPINH designers.
Nigö

Tomoaki Nagao aka “Nigö” is a DJ, music producer, and creator of streetwear sensation, Bape. Founded in 1993, the brand quickly became a favorite among ‘90s hip-hop legends like The Notorious B.I.G., while his creation of the “Bapesta” sneaker in the early aughts solidified his brand as synonymous with street culture. Today, Nigö serves as the artistic director for Kenzo.

AAPINH designers.
Carol Lim and Humberto Leon

California native designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon founded Opening Ceremony in 2002. Both a design label and multi-brand retailer, Opening Ceremony focused on emerging fashion designers in tandem with global issues. Although the brand closed all of its physical stores during COVID-19, Lim’s and Leon’s work has retained an online cult following and is remembered for elevating streetwear.

AAPINH designers.
Han Chong

Fashion designer Han Chong was born in Malaysia but studied design at the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London. Smitten with the city life, Chong adopted London as his home, marking the birthplace of his womenswear brand, Self-Portrait. As the name would suggest, Self-Portrait with its powerfully feminine creations is a reflection of the modern woman.

AAPINH designers.
Prabal Gurung

Born in Singapore and raised in Nepal, fashion designer Prabal Gurung imbues his eponymous New York brand with international sensibilities. Having witnessed significant inequity in his early years, Gurung redefines glamour with bold femme designs whilst addressing global issues, from poverty to climate change. In a 2022 interview, the designer remarked, “I’ve never seen politics and culture and fashion as separate, I never thought they should be mutually exclusive.”

AAPI designers to know.
Hiroshi Fujiwara

Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, better known as the ‘Godfather of Harajuku,’  is involved in several successful ventures, including fashion label Fragment Design and minimalist home goods brand RetaW. A mainstay in sneaker culture, Fujiwara’s list of collaborations ranges from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Rolex to the iconic Japanese media franchise, Pokémon. 

AAPINH designers.
Rhuigi Villaseñor

Filipino-American designer Rhuigi Villaseñor saw success as a designer before ever having a fashion label. In 2012, Kendrick Lamar wore Villaseñor’s now famous bandana tee to the BET Awards, making the demand for Villaseñor’s designs abundantly clear. Two years later, Villaseñor launched Rhude and has continued to reinvent Americana fashion with his signature streetwear flair. Appointed creative director for Swiss luxury brand Bally more than a year ago (in which he recently announced his resignation in pursuit of new ventures), this is only the beginning for the thirty-year-old designer.

AAPINH designers.
Junya Wantanabe

As the protégé of Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo, Junya Wantanabe was destined for greatness. His breakout project was “Function and Practicality”, a womenswear Spring/Summer 2000 collection filled with reversible, out-of-the-box pieces that upended familiar fabrics. Since then, the designer has branched out into menswear and consistently pushed the envelope on avant-garde design.

AAPINH designers.
Tomo Koizumi

Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi proves that talent trumps technical training. Without any formal design education, Koizumi’s hobby of creating custom garments for his friends caught the attention of an important editor. In a whirlwind chain of events, Koizumi was invited to show at Marc Jacobs’ Madison Avenue store at New York Fashion Week for the Fall/Winter 2019 season. Since then, Koizumi’s grown-up club kid design style has kept him on the international fashion radar.

AAPINH designers.
Kim Shui

Chinese-born womenswear designer Kim Shui founded her cult-favorite label in 2016. Empowering those who are often pushed to the sidelines, Shui’s namesake label celebrates women along with her own Chinese heritage. Outspoken by design, Shui’s social media famous pieces are meant to be seen.

AAPINH designers.
Jin Kay, Dylan Cao, and Huy Luong

New York-based designers Jin Kay, Dylan Cao, and Huy Luong merge their mutual Asian heritage with ‘80s and ‘90s Americana aesthetics. As first-generation immigrants from the Parsons School of Design, the trio established the label Commission in 2018. Nostalgic and sophisticated, Commission is East Asian at its core whilst remaining widely universal.

AAPINH designers.
Chris Leba

Vietnamese designer Chris Leba moved to New York City when the ‘80s punk scene was in full force. Leba’s admiration for the rebellious subculture informed his creation of R13 in 2009. Known for his riffs on classics like denim, leather, flannels, and platform sneakers, Leba’s designs are effortlessly irreverent.

AAPINH designers.
Gaurav Gupta

Gaurav Gupta’s eponymous label is proudly Indian. Championing exquisite Indian construction and embellishing techniques, the couturier has garnered a star-studded clientele, with A-listers such as Lizzo, Cardi B, and Priyanka Chopra gracing the red carpets with his sculptural designs. Each of Gupta’s collections is architectural and conversational, what many are calling the future of couture.

AAPINH designers.

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