Fashion designer Chris Ran Lin had constantly viewed himself as a menswear specialist. That is, until he met US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour on her recent visit to Melbourne.
“[Wintour] asked if I would only work in menswear and how I define myself – it’s a good question,” he said. “I call it menswear but the majority of my customers are women.”
Lin was among a gathering of designers chosen by Vogue Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria that had a group of people with Wintour a month ago.
Despite the fact that it was a genuine “pinch me” minute for Lin, his sights are presently on the National Designer Award, which will be reported on March 1.
Lin made a year ago’s last however missed out to sports-luxury juggernaut P.E. Country. He settled on the quick decision to try again this year.
“Last year I wasn’t expecting I was going to win; it was an experience,” he said.
“It’s tough as a menswear designer. [The judges] don’t just look at the creative criteria – they [evaluate] commercialised thinking … Compared to other people, [my brand] is not as mature as other brands. In terms of creativity I am pretty proud of myself.”
Lin, a knitwear specialist, has recently finished a coordinated effort with a noteworthy Chinese organization. In any case, in Australia, his name is still moderately obscure.
His entrance for the prize is classified “Hazardous Goods” and was roused by his movements through Asia, where he experienced numerous laborers in high-chance occupations, such as construction and mining.
“There are people [in these countries] working so hard for their lives,” said Lin, who was born in China. “When you are doing those [dangerous] jobs, it’s work for life. You just have to do it. For us, we work in fashion, maybe some people see what we do is beautiful … and actually behind it we work so hard as well.”
Lin said he had been working hard on tightening his business model, which has recently pivoted more from private orders to wholesale accounts.
“There is growth in my business. I hear that from my customers – my stuff is hard to find but for a designer it’s difficult to get into more stockists,” he said. “Some stores want to see your product but they can be concerned if your brand is new. I am ready for it now.”
The National Designer Award commences the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, which will incorporate runway appears just as the principal Australian Fashion Summit, featuring surprising supermodel Ashley Graham and a few industry pioneers.
Fashion designer Chris Ran Lin had constantly viewed himself as a menswear specialist. That is, until he met US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour on her recent visit to Melbourne.
“[Wintour] asked if I would only work in menswear and how I define myself – it’s a good question,” he said. “I call it menswear but the majority of my customers are women.”
Lin was among a gathering of designers chosen by Vogue Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria that had a group of people with Wintour a month ago.
Despite the fact that it was a genuine “pinch me” minute for Lin, his sights are presently on the National Designer Award, which will be reported on March 1.
Lin made a year ago’s last however missed out to sports-luxury juggernaut P.E. Country. He settled on the quick decision to try again this year.
“Last year I wasn’t expecting I was going to win; it was an experience,” he said.
“It’s tough as a menswear designer. [The judges] don’t just look at the creative criteria – they [evaluate] commercialised thinking … Compared to other people, [my brand] is not as mature as other brands. In terms of creativity I am pretty proud of myself.”
Lin, a knitwear specialist, has recently finished a coordinated effort with a noteworthy Chinese organization. In any case, in Australia, his name is still moderately obscure.
His entrance for the prize is classified “Hazardous Goods” and was roused by his movements through Asia, where he experienced numerous laborers in high-chance occupations, such as construction and mining.
“There are people [in these countries] working so hard for their lives,” said Lin, who was born in China. “When you are doing those [dangerous] jobs, it’s work for life. You just have to do it. For us, we work in fashion, maybe some people see what we do is beautiful … and actually behind it we work so hard as well.”
Lin said he had been working hard on tightening his business model, which has recently pivoted more from private orders to wholesale accounts.
“There is growth in my business. I hear that from my customers – my stuff is hard to find but for a designer it’s difficult to get into more stockists,” he said. “Some stores want to see your product but they can be concerned if your brand is new. I am ready for it now.”
The National Designer Award commences the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, which will incorporate runway appears just as the principal Australian Fashion Summit, featuring surprising supermodel Ashley Graham and a few industry pioneers.
Alternate finalists for the prize are MNDATORY, Blair Archibald, Double Rainbouu, Arnsdorf and Christian Kimber.
Festival chief executive Graeme Lewsey said sustainability was a big focus of this year’s award, so much a separate prize will be given to a finalist who excels in this area.
“Menswear has juggernauted into the spotlight this season and many brands described their collections having non-gender binary appeal. It will be a difficult decision this season.”
Chris Wilson, head of menswear at David Jones, which sponsors the prize, said retailers needed to stay ahead of the curve in signing innovative labels.
“It’s a really exciting time for us with designers placing more emphasis on their menswear offering, and in turn, our customers having a greater range of the best of local and international brands [to choose from],” he said.
