My Trip to Fashion Week — Yuna Yang

I keep getting closer. Last year, as a Michael Kors intern, I worked at Market Week for their Fall 2016 collection. This season, I was invited to Yuna Yang as a blogger. So last Saturday afternoon, I put on my coat and boots, crunched through the snow, and took the 30-minute train ride into Manhattan, cold and excited.

The show was at the Gotham Comedy Club in Chelsea, so guests sat at tables for two partitioned along the wall. I was pleased because I could hang my coat on a chair and place my purse on a table, two things you can’t do with the traditional rows of benches. I could also get to know my table-mate, who, as it happens, went to NYU like me! As the guests poured in, I noticed colorful faux-fur jackets, lace-up booties, and box clutches.

Guests arrive and take their seats. 

Two guests before the show. 

Every Yuna Yang collection has a name, and this season was called “Lights in the Shadow”. I appreciate this about Yuna Yang because attending the show felt like seeing a performance, like a play or a dance recital. The collection was inspired by the people’s protests against American president Donald Trump, especially the Women’s March, and South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who was impeached last December. The show notes said, “Yuna Yang’s F/W17 collection pays homage to people who hold on to hope and belief in shadowed times.”

The models included Marina Albino, Phillipa Steele, Nastya Choo, Rachel Thomas, Alyona Subbotina, Liga Liepina, Val Debeuf, Jini Lee, Akua Williams, and Lisa Tomaschewsky.

Here are some of the looks:

FLOWER BOMBER PRINT

   

WATERFALL PRINT

    

AUSTRIAN LACE

    

LIGHTING CANDLE PRINT

       

     

AND MORE

   

   

My favorite look of all was the closing look, the burgundy slip dress. The collection was bright and full of energy, with hues like gold, ocher, tangerine, periwinkle, mint, and cerulean. Velvet dresses, sweatshirts, and skirts provided the durability one needs to get through fall and winter.

Me before the show started. D-Face leather dress and vintage dragonfly necklace from Bloom Marin.

Since this was my first time attending Fashion Week, I was so excited to see up close that which I had only looked at from afar for the past decade (yes, since I was in middle school). When I was 12, I worked on a book about an island of witches who wore only haute couture, every day, at every occasion. After seeing the beautiful Yuna Yang outfits, I was left wishing that everyone out on the street  looked as put-together as runway models. That may not be the case, but this week Manhattan came pretty close.

Yuna Yang is from Seoul. Before starting her own brand, she thoroughly learned her craft; she earned a degree in Fine Arts from Ewha Women’s University, a degree in Design from Instituto Marangoni, and a degree in Womenswear Design from Central Saint Martins. Meanwhile, she also gained valuable work experience at Alviero Martini in Milan and both Ann-Sofie Beck and Clements Ribeiro in London. She debuted her New York-based line, Yuna Yang, at NYFW Fall 2010 and has shown every season since. She has also dressed many a celebrity: Carrie Underwood, Jessica Loundes, Danai Gurira, Darby Stanchfield, Nicole Murphy, Dascha Polanco, Maye Musk, and Irene Kim to name a few!

 Carrie Underwood in the music video for “See You Again”, which enjoyed 42.8 million views

    

Nicole Mitchell Murphy at the premiere of Water for Elephants; Irene Kim, aka Ireneisgood

   

Jessica Lowndes; Danai Gurira at the premiere of 42

   

Darby Stanchfield; Maye Musk at the Met Gala

Yuna Yang can be found at their website; Foravi in Manhattan; Cami in Roslyn, New York; Deborah Gilbert Smith in Millburn, New Jersey; Joe Brand in Laredo and McAllen, Texas; A&A, La Scala, Art to Wear, and Shin Kōng Mitsukoshi in Táipěi; Avenuel and Galleria in Seoul; Lotte in Busan, South Korea; Isetan in Tōkyō; and Arabian Apparel in Riyādh.

Yuna Yang hats and headbands at Isetan. 

Past concepts: The New Woman, No Borders, The 100% Perfect Girl, Hunting Without Guns, The Butterfly Mother, 1920s Shapes Meet Modern Art, Che Bella, Civil Twilight, Bright Lights Big City, My Black Wedding Dress