Meet the region's leading fashion designers
Hong Kong-born Christina Yu Shin-yee always loved fashion, although she spent most of her career working as a lawyer. She moved to Vietnam in 1995 and was inspired by the traditional craftsmanship of the country, which she hoped to use for her own fashion line.
After a brief stint as a designer for local brands G.O.D. and Shanghai Tang, she launched her own label, Ipa-Nima, in 1997. It was the first fashion brand to offer high quality, originally designed handbags, scarves and shoes from Vietnam.
Yu says she designs for the modern woman who dares to be different. Her clients include the likes of Hillary Rodham-Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bai Ling, Yasmin Le Bon, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett, Maggie Cheung and Faye Wong.
When did you launch your label? I launched Ipa-Nima in Hanoi in 1997 after exhibiting at an arts and crafts fair in 1996. The response was great. Everyone told me to export, which I did.
Have you always wanted to be a designer? My rational part told me I should be a lawyer, but my subconscious told me to get into fashion. I applied for a textile design course at the same time I applied for my law degree. I thought it would be good to have a professional degree as a background.
How did you set up the label? I opened a shop in Hanoi. The development was a lot faster than I anticipated. Just by word of mouth, we had people knocking on our door, wanting to be our distributor.