Sandy Liang is a

fashion label Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates c ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Founded in 2014 by Sandy Liang, its designs are inspired by nostalgia, girlhood, and grandmothers in Chinatown.

Founder

Sandy Liang was born on June 4, 1991, in New York City and grew up in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and th ...

, with a brother and a pet

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

. She briefly studied architecture at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

before transferring to

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

to study fashion design. Her father founded a restaurant in

Manhattan Chinatown Manhattan's Chinatown () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west. With an estimated population of 90,000 to 100, ...

called Congee Village in 1996, when Liang was six. She frequently spent time at the restaurant after school. Her family restaurant and Chinatown in general serve as major design inspirations for her brand. Liang met Dorian Booth, an architect, in 2016. They married in 2023.

History

Liang launched her fashion label, Sandy Liang, in 2014, after graduating from Parsons. She was inspired by the style of grandmothers in Chinatown, and engaged her grandmother to model a collection of oversized coats. The brand's first collection was released in fall/winter 2014. In spring/summer 2015, the brand held a runway show at Liang's family restaurant. In 2018, Liang was featured in ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 in the category of art and design. In 2019, the label released a line of

leopard-print Animal print is a clothing and fashion style in which the garment is made to resemble the pattern of the skin and fur, feathers or scales of animals such as a leopard, zebra, giraffe, tiger or cow. Animal print is also used for room decoratio ...

fleece jackets inspired by hand-me-downs of Liang's childhood. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as the "hottest jacket 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 publ ...

". The success of the jacket led to the label's first fashion show in September 2019. In 2020, the brand opened a flagship retail store in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. In 2022, Sandy Liang released its first footwear line, taking inspiration from the aesthetics of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

to create a cross between a Mary Jane and a

pointe shoe A pointe shoe (, ), also called a ballet toe shoe or simply toe shoe, is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and ...

. The release was highly successful, even taking pre-orders for restocks. In spring 2023, the brand released a version of the shoe in mesh, and their first bridal collection in the same year. Sandy Liang's style has been associated with 2020s design trends like gorpcore, balletcore, and coquette, and compared with designers such as

Simone Rocha Simone Rocha (born 1986) is an Irish fashion designer. She is the daughter of fashion designer John Rocha, and trained at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and at Central Saint Martins, London. She launched her graduate collection i ...

and

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The ...

; '' Harper's Bazaar'' compared the brand's cult following to that of the streetwear brand

Supreme Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown ...

. Its collections often feature ribbon-bow motifs, which was noted as a trend in both fashion and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

in the spring and summer of 2023. Several of the brand's collections are inspired by different elements of founder Liang's girlhood such as ''

Hello Kitty , also known by her full name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow and n ...

'' and hand-me-down clothing. In an interview, Liang cited the film ''Marie Antoinette'' and the work of

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed crime drama film ...

as a major influence. Sandy Liang collaborated with

Warby Parker Warby Parker is an American online retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Warby Parker was founded as primarily online retailer, but now sells primarily (about 90%) through approximately 160 ...

in 2019,

Away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...

and

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

in 2021, and

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the co ...

in 2020 and 2022. In 2023, the brand collaborated with Salomon to create a line of sneakers. In 2023, Sandy Liang collaborated with the dog clothing brand Little Beast on a line of fleeces and knitted sweaters for

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relativ ...

s. The brand also created its first line of

homeware Home accessories are furniture items which are easy to replace and easy to move, and include almost any items that are not strictly functionally necessary in a decorated space. These accessories include such items as curtains, sofa sets, cushions, t ...

that year, including a doormat and a

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

runner as well as a variety of

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

and

loungewear Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasisi ...

References

{{reflist Chinese-American culture in New York City Asian-American culture in New York City High fashion brands Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies based in New York City