Vancouver Fashion Week SS19 - Interview With Fashion Designer Yeqi Tang of NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti)

All images provided by NABA unless otherwise marked.

Image by Arun Nevader of Getty Images

Where were you born, where did you grow up?

I was born in Jiaxing, a small city in south-east coast of China.

What you like when you were young? What were your interests in your teenage years?

When I was young I liked watching movies and participating in outdoor activities, like hiking or traveling.

Looking back, can you remember any early signs that you would end up in fashion? A personal story would be great here.

Before studying fashion, I didn't have any art background, so studying fashion design was a little difficult for me at the very beginning.

Talk about when and how you decided to study fashion design. Was you family supportive?

Actually, after my college entrance examination, my first choice was foreign language. I wanted to be a translator in the future. But I didn't reach the entering test score. I was actually accepted by my third choice. So it's a coincident for me be in this career, but I really do like being a fashion designer.

Why did you choose to study in the program at NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti)?

I am a exchange student from SUES. My Chinese university has an exchange program with NABA.

Talk about your time studying Fashion Design. What was hard for you? What was easy for you? Are they any high, low or funny moments you can share?

Where I didn't have any art background before, I sometimes felt my ideas or inspirations were very limited.

What was the inspiration for the collection you showed on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week?

The inspiration for my collection - called Salute Antoni Gaudi - is the decorative art of Antoni Gaudi, his mosaic porcelain and stained glass.

Describe your collection – customer, day-evening-sportswear-separates-casual-luxury-glamour-stage-costuming-punk?

I would describe my collection as stage.

What is the palette? What fabrics did you use?

The colors of my palette were extracted from the architecture decoration of Gaudi. The main fabrics are cotton and synthetic fiber.

Do you have a favourite look?

My favourite look is the one in predominantly blue tones.

What do you think you can bring to the fashion world that is new?

A modern Chinese style. As a Chinese girl, I deeply love my culture. I want to find a way to introduce Chinese culture to the world through my Fashion Design.

Where do you go from here – are you going to work for others for awhile, launch your own line, take a break and travel?

I will be going back to China to look for a job working with an Asian brand.

Please share a quote on what fashion design means to you.

"Fashion design is window for me to meet a better me."

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For more information on the Fashion Design or Fashion and Textile programs at NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti), please visit the website at https://www.naba.it/en/fashion-design.