Weaving stories of fashion industry success

Well-established designer Phillip Lim, creative director of Elle and reality star of “The City” Joe Zee, and CEO of Opening Ceremony Humberto Leon were among the 10 panelists presenting at Asian Pacific American Awareness Month and Hoot Magazine’s panel discussion titled “Asian Americans in the Fashion Industry” last night. The panelists brought inspiration and insight to fashion industry hopefuls through captivating success stories and informative advice.

Noel Duan, CC ’13—co-editor in chief of Hoot Magazine, arts chair of APAAM, and Spectator style writer—coordinated the event with Leon’s help. Duan envisioned this panel not as an opportunity to discuss the obstacles in the fashion industry, but rather as a chance to, as she said, “get across that it’s pretty easy to step into the fashion industry today—no one’s going to stop you from working in fashion because of your background.”

When SuChin Pak, MTV correspondent and moderator of the panel, asked the panelists how they reached their current levels of prominence in the fashion industry, nearly all attributed their success to their undying passion and enthusiasm for their respective roles in the industry.

Lim, who was nominated for Vogue’s Fashion Fund award in 2006, explained that he kept asking himself during college, “Why are you a business major when you suck at math?” One day, he had an epiphany in accounting class and simply walked out. “I think in a strange way, fashion found me because I had the guts to take the steps to pursue what I really love, which was clothes,” he said. “Now I have a job in the fashion industry that I love—I’m a dress-maker and a little bit of a business person.”

Zee also charmed the audience with a bluntly honest story of how his memories of high school consist of him sitting at his locker poring over fashion magazines “cover to cover, looking at every single ad, the masthead. … In my head, they were my imaginary friends … I know, creepy, but that was just who I was.” He interned at various fashion magazines for no pay, but he did it with a smile because ultimately, everything was part of an experience that he loved.

After the panelists shared the intriguing paths that led each of them to their current careers, the audience engaged in a stimulating question-and-answer session, covering topics such as fashion as a business of aesthetics, finding a balance between creativity and wearability, and fashion as a form of communication and dialogue.

The basic take-home message from these panelists? “Do what you love—the passion will come through and people will see that,” Zee said. Lim added that people should always maintain “humility, tenacity, and persistence.” Even for students not enamored by the fashion industry, EJ Samson, online editor of Teen Vogue said, “Be very honest toward what you’re interested in. … Unless you don’t need to work, working is a big part of your life, and you should really enjoy it.”