Dan Liu Kin Ming () also known as; is a Hong Kongese and Japanese

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

er and producing apparel, accessories and fashions for men and women. He is also the founder and the creative director of TATSUAKI fashion label. He was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and is currently based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Early life

Dan Liu was born in

and because of his complex family background, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

by himself when he was 16. Liu attended high school at

Resurrection Catholic Secondary School Resurrection Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic high school in Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Awards Resurrection CSS has a variety of awards that students can apply to annually. In addition, a collection of awards are pre ...

in Kitchener,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

where he met his best friend Francisco, and studied at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

for

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

and

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

."Another level for Dan Liu". TodayCommercialNews.com, Commercial Newspaper, Sunday, February 6, 2011 , P.32,33. At his early age, Liu worked as a janitor, as a delivery guy, as a tutor and as a choreographer/dancer until producing various fashion shows for a major fashion group in

in 1995; this triggered his passion in fashion. In 1997, he decided to discontinue everything and went back to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

to study fashion design and marketing at Aoyama Fashion College."First HongKongnese goes to NYFW". eweekly.hk, E Weekly Magazine, E Media+, Thursday, June 9, 2016, Issue 032, P.54-56.

Fashion career

Liu worked for a fashion house TSUKI Fashion as a designer in the beginning. In 2002, he began working with

Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (doing business as Holt Renfrew and known colloquially as Holt's) is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. It has been owned by the Weston family since 1986, and was previo ...

to promote his own label TATSUAKI by starting in 4 major

cities;

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

;

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

until 2005 it was available across

. Liu went back to

in 2004 to launch his

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing ...

collection and in 2006, he expanded his line with a lower price range label, AKI in

. In 2012, he started contracting with Hudson's Bay and became the first Asian Canadian

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

to launch his own label at the Bay in the 21st century. In November 2010, Liu was fashion design/consulting to clients as a stylist/designer at

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...

and he collaborated with Haight & Ashbury in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

for men's clothing in March 2013. In February 2016, Liu was first accepted by WME/IMG (IMG's Official NYFW: The Shows) to showcase his DAN LIU line at

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general pub ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States."NYFW: 2016's latest trends". usatoday.com, Friday, February 19, 2016 LIFE."NYFW: 20 looks we'd rock this fall". torontosun.com, Toronto Sun Newspaper, Thursday, February 18, 2016 Life Fashion. He was accepted again to showcase his 2017 Spring collection in September 2016"Washington Square News: Dan Liu S/S 2017". nyunews.com, Saturday, September 10, 2016. and since then, he is with IMG New York showcasing his collection at NYFW twice a year."Dan Liu autumn/winter 2017 collection catwalk show for NYFW". theupcoming.co.uk, Friday, February 10, 2017."DAN LIU'S FALL FAIRY TALE COLLECTION". resident.com, Friday, February 1, 2017."DAN LIU Expresses Femininity for the Real Woman on the NYFW Runway". fashionmaniac.com, September 11, 2017. Liu has been named as 'King of Cocktail Dresses" and "Cocktail Dress Connoisseur" from the

fashion industry Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

since 2017."DAN LIU'S FALL FAIRY TALE COLLECTION". resident.com, Friday, February 1, 2017."#NYFW Dan Liu Spring Summer 2019: Cocktail Dress Connoisseur". mefeater.com, Tuesday, September 11, 2018. VRAI Magazine in the United States also called Liu as "Showman of New York Fashion Week" after he showcased his Spring/Summer 2019 Collection at

at the Gallery 1 of Spring Studios on September 11, 2018 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

TATSUAKI label and DAN LIU label

TATSUAKI fashion was founded by Liu in 2002 and it's named after his Japanese name. The label emphasis on beauty and practicality and caters for women as ‟Funky Couture". The DAN LIU label was first noticed in February 2016 at

by Liu as his high-end line and the collection appears to be more mature. Both collections often appears with

knit Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from a variety of ...

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

and

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

details. TATSUAKI garments have graced the racks at

Canada and other notable boutiques in both

, Japan and

, Canada. Dan Liu opened the flagship store of TATSUAKI in the heart of the Yorkville district of Toronto in 2002 and was frequented by stars such as

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series '' Kids I ...

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Fashion Girls by Dan - Fashion Makeover Reality Television Show

Fashion Girls by Dan interivew, OMNI TV, Rogers Television

Fashion Girls by Dan is a spin-off of TLC's What Not To Wear and Look-A-Like reality TV show with an Asian inspiration from Fashion TV's Tokyo Girls in Japan. The reality show premise is the walk through transformation of an ordinary person and the discussion of real life issues. Dan will give the participants a head to toe transformation to help them look and feel better about themselves and to gain the confidence that they need to achieve their goal. The reality show began in the Fall of 2014, contracted for 2 series by OMNI TV from

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sports ...

Group, with 13 episodes for each series. It was aired on OMNI TV channel 2 nationwide in

."Fashion Girls by Dan - fashion makeover reality TV show by Dan Liu". Today Commercial News.com, 701 magazine, Saturday, September 27, 2014 p. 39. The show was also be on aired in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

starting 2016.

Personal life

Liu has extensive training in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

. He started training in

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

since he was 15. Starting 1997, he learned

iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Spor ...

and

bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

. According to him, practicing

is not just a physical exercise, it's also mental. It is a life philosophy.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Dan 1972 births Living people Canadian gay artists LGBT fashion designers High fashion brands Luxury brands Artists from New York City Artists from Toronto Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian fashion designers Canadian expatriates in the United States Chinese emigrants to Canada Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese fashion designers Japanese emigrants to Canada Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese fashion designers Japanese people of Chinese descent Hong Kong fashion designers Janitors 21st-century Japanese LGBT people Japanese gay artists 21st-century Canadian LGBT people