MODA Designer Profile: Anya Wang

Anya Wang is a third-year pre-med student majoring in Biological Sciences with a specialization in endocrinology. She is a first-time designer for the MODA show, and she shared with me the inspiration for the line of business wear that she designed.

What made you want to be a part of this process?

When quarantine started, I felt incredibly bored at home and started turning to various arts and crafts to keep myself and my hands busy. I tried knitting, various DIYs, painting, and sewing. I invested in a sewing machine and started with basic alternations of clothes that didn’t quite fit me well. I really loved creating clothes that I finally felt comfortable wearing and clothes that I actually liked, rather than clothes that merely did the job. I thought designing for the MODA show would be a great challenge for a newbie like me, and I loved seeing the collections created last year, so I wanted to be surrounded by other designers during this creative process.

Have you done fashion design work before?

No, I’ve never done any fashion design work before. However, I’m incredibly excited for this challenge, and although it’s taking lots of time and effort to work through the specific details of creating a design, I love all of it and use it as an outlet from the stressful work environment.

What are some sources of inspiration from your collection?

I wanted my collection to focus on the border between “business wear” and “casual fashion,” with a mix of fun. Business wear (i.e. blazers, trousers, professional-looking blouses, ties, etc.) has been a great staple in the workplace, and although I really enjoy certain aspects of this style, such as how clean it looks, it can also be incredibly boring and bland. So, I wanted to incorporate some fun and potentially spicy characteristics into my collection to push back on the strictness of business wear. Additionally, because most business wear clothing has muted and neutral colors, I wanted to create contrast by having my collection be bright and colorful.

Anya’s mood board of photos that she used as inspiration for her designs.

What are some of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of the process?

I think some of the most challenging parts of this process are knowing my limits and physically transforming my idealistic designs into reality. I’ve drafted multiple versions of potential outfits to create, and while they look great on paper, I tend to quickly realize when I begin to think about how I’m going to actually create these pieces that my designs are way beyond my current clothing design and pattern-making capabilities. Throughout this process, I’m really getting a sense of what I’m capable of doing, and so I think the most rewarding aspect of this process is pushing through a very difficult idea, and finally finding a way to bring it to reality.

What are you looking forward to most about the show?

Although this show is going to be very different from the previous shows MODA has had, I’m most looking forward to seeing the collections of all the other designers and experiencing how creative some of my peers are.

Describe your collection in three words.

Pushback on businesswear.

All images courtesy of Anya Wang. Header graphic by Vivian Li.