WWR Staff
New York.
Having won brand recognition and popularity in Paris, designer Lan Yu recently made another grand move to elevate her business to a global scale through announcing the birth of LANYU evening gown collections in New York City. It coincides with the brand’s 11th anniversary and marks another significant step up of this young entrepreneur’s brand.
Featuring southeastern China Suzhou embroidery, the brand combines eastern handcraft techniques with western materials and design.
Yu’s inspiration stems from her personal experience. With her mother being the fourth generation in her family to practice traditional Suzhou embroidery craftsmanship, Lan Yu grew up with silk and fine embroidery techniques that have been passed down for over 2,000 years. She set up her fashion studio while she was studying at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and the LANYU brand was officially born after she returned from further education in the U.S, where her aesthetic taste was enriched by international concepts.
Lan Yu’s success began with the popularity of her haute couture wedding dresses among celebrities and later on red carpet gowns. However, “in a woman’s life, there are many more shining moments than just the wedding. I want to help them grab those moments, realize their dreams as I did and shine,” explained Lan Yu about her decision in broadening the brands’ offerings.
Being a successful female entrepreneur, Lan Yu is a strong advocate of empowering women. Besides regular donations to female students from poor families in remote areas in China, Lan Yu is sponsoring several start-up initiatives for fresh college graduates. Valuing Suzhou embroidery as a rare and unique technique, Lan Yu has designed Embroidery Workshop Project 020 to teach impoverished mothers how to make fine embroideries.