When we found out that there is a designer who proposes pastel-colored, fuzzy ice-cream cone pouches to be worn during the winter, we felt we had to know who she was immediately. This is no other than Sandy Liang. The driving talent behind the namesake brand captures the feel of New York streets, the city she was born and raised, and currently works in, through her line: casual, sophisticated clothing of the urban woman who lives, works, and thrives in downtown NYC, and does not wish to compromise style, but wants to feel comfortable in her outfit at the same time.
While still a student at Parsons, Sandy took part in a design competition sponsored by Saga Furs – which, alongside Swarovski, sponsored her BFA collection. The result, the Margot coat in bubblegum pink and brown, made it into her debut collection. Right after college, she cut her teeth interning for Opening Ceremony, Richard Chai, Jason Wu and 3.1 Philip Lim, but eventually decided to start her own label.
The designer takes everyday wear to another level to give her clients something that will make them smile, particularly during the cold winter days; she uses meticulous details – see flower and body piercing embellishments – to give her pieces a certain edge, while maintaining clean lines that make them classy pieces you can always rely and go back to. Her intention is to create things that you can wear all the time regardless of seasons and trends. Starting from individual pieces, she builds the looks from there gradually, the same way you would create a look from your closet.
Sandy’s collections are all about contrasting styles and materials (admittedly, she has always been fascinated with things that have opposite or conflicting qualities), loose, oversized silhouettes – wide-leg cropped pants, structured skirts, oversized coats and deep (plunging, even) necklines – and solid colors. Ankle-length trousers are the designer’s current favorite silhouette, fact that explains the abundance of cropped styles. She proudly calls them “Chinatown Grandma Pants:” they were inspired by the pants that Chinatown grandmas wear and the way they wore them, which, to Sandy’s mind, looked so effortless.
Sandy epitomizes New York cool with her playful clothes. Her design aesthetic reflects on her mentality that clothes are meant to be enjoyed and have a great time with. It is this vision that predicts the bright future that lies ahead for her. However, she is not rushing to figure it out: “I’m still finding myself, I’m still figuring out what I like, what I don’t like, who I want my girl to be. I think she already exists—she’s you, she’s me, she’s just this girl who likes clothes, but it’s not her entire life.”
Fore more information, visit www.sandyliang.info. You can browse Sandy Liang’s S/S ’15 collection here</a>.
Images of Sandy Liang F/W ’14 via http://www.sandyliang.info
Header image and Sandy Liang portrait via Refinery29 (here and here)
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