In this collection, Ying Yang explored the lifestyle changes of first generation Chinese immigrants who are basined in Chinatown, New York. After being an immigrant herself and moving to NYC with family at the age of 13, Ying questions where she truly belongs to. Feeling like an outsider from both NYC and China. The collection involves a lot of personal emotions, with the garments documenting records of the designers’ own stories.




Ying travelled to China Town every week, observing the lives of many people. She interviewed them, shared stories and managed to get involved in their life. Taking pictures, documenting conversations. Witnessing the story they share and the connection they had.




Ying then began to experiment with textiles based on her research. After noticing a lot of road signs in Chinatown, she created her own writing such as; Parking only for Ying, Must be 21 to enter, #LoveYingYang and #cashonly. Ying also used her own photographs to manipulate into textiles and patterns.




She also then started to play with textile manipulation to create structured shapes and different materials.