Refreshing Timeless Fashion - Interview with Annching Wang
Today I invite you to meet Annching Wang an ambitious young designer who captured my attention with her strong belief in building a new economy with independent fashion businesses and entrepreneurs at the centre of it.
She has recently graduated with a degree in fashion and technology and has carved the beginnings of a career as a writer and communications strategist for independent fashion businesses. She has learned a lot into this period, so now she’s trying to find funds on a crowd funding platform - IndieGoGo - to launch her first clothing line named: AVERY
AVERY, is a capsule collection of art and is inspired by the power of simplicity and a love of imagination. It was founded by Annching on the idea of taking something classic and refreshing it with a sense of meaning, progress and play.
What I loved the most at her line was her the idea of creating a collection that make people look and feel good, using basic pieces to act as the building blocks of a wardrobe that express personal style and values. Annching strongly believes that intersection between beauty and utility is design.
I’m trying to help Annching bring her fashion dream to life and spread the word to anyone who can contribute on IndieGoGo with funds that may help her to launch.
I’ve talked a little bit with Annching on her passion, her vision and her thoughts on the fashion business. Firstly I’ll invite you to see a short video with her story and then read the interview.
Annching Wang is …
a girl sitting in between, turning those in-betweens into possibilities through her upcoming fashion line.
Nothing inspires me like …
fresh air, blank slates, great storytelling, and a sense of purpose.
I got where I am because …
I’ve always want to do something bigger than myself. I like making ideas happen.
My Creativity comes from
curiosity and a thirst for exploration. I’m passionate about art and design because it turns the possibility of thoughts and ideas - even feelings - into tangible things that people can experience and become a part of.
My mission is …
to inspire people to make more conscious decisions and to become more fully themselves through clothes because life is too short to wear things we don’t really like, that do more harm than good. The intersection between beauty, utility and story in clothing is so fascinating to me, and I just want to share my version of the positive power I see that fashion holds.
The main motivation for starting my own business was …
because I had an idea that I felt like was being hinted at in fashion, but not in the way I envisioned. It also came at the right time, just over a year after I graduated from fashion school, and I finally made the commitment to join possibility with practicality to go after the dream.
My newest collection - Avery Collection - came as
a challenge to design pieces that I myself would actually want to wear and cherish in my closet, while bringing in a sense of conscious design, art and sustainability. So I started by focusing on making the perfect button down.
For a business to be successful I knew that …
I had to keep my eye on the big picture while taking care of the details.
I find help with setting up my business from …
all over - books, experiences, the internet, blogs. All the information is out there, from getting a business licence to learning how to do pattern repeats in Adobe Illustrator. It’s just a matter of filtering it all and finding out what works best.
I gained my technical fashion skills from …
my degree in fashion design and technology, though of course it’s a lifelong process, and I’m adamant about the idea that fashion is a material and tangible expression of all that goes on around us. We start learning about fashion when we first become aware of the clothes we wear, and my education in fashion is informed by my education in all areas of my life - from art, commerce, conscious living, culture, everything. Right now,
I’m cultivating that more artistic side of me as well, because I know how easy it is as a business person to focus on purely business - and I want to make the conscious effort to keep learning and growing as a designer as well.
My biggest issue has been …
letting go at times of the very practical and rational side of me to lean more into scarier, bigger risks. But interestingly enough, it’s that practical side of me that tempers my creative side, and makes sure that I can run a business at the same time that I’m trying to make art.
What aspects of setting up and running your own business have you found challenging?
I can’t really say since I’m still at the very beginning stages. But so far, mindset has been a huge thing. Business, marketing, design - those things come when you make the conscious commitment to learn and grow, although it helps to have an intuitive sense for it, or as what they call it, talent.
But sometimes, there is still that feeling of overwhelm because being an entrepreneur is tough, especially without a lot of real world industry experience in fashion itself. So sometimes it’s hard just thinking of everything that has to get done. Staying organized and feeling “on top” of things has been a challenge, because there is always something new to deal with as an entrepreneur. There are always daily challenges - and getting those right and on time while keeping the bigger picture and the vision I have in mind is something I’m learning to do as I go along.
Don't miss out on exciting news and updates.
