Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Derek Mong
For many of us, we look at a chessboard and only see a few dozen figurines strewn upon a checkered black-and-white plank. For fashion designer Frank Huynh, that chessboard is the launching pad for an entire clothing line.
Huynh is personifying individual chess pieces and using their bodies, their “personalities,” as inspiration for the garments in his debut collection at DC Fashion Week 2014. Incorporating a flare of Japanese street fashion to keep things interesting, Huynh’s premiere collection—self-described as “sleek and clean, but with edge”—is nothing short of breathtaking.
Yet Huynh’s road to his DC Fashion Week debut isn’t quite as linear as the runways on which his models walk, and digging a little deeper, it’s clear that the inspired nuances in his creations derive from complexities that have unfolded in his own life.
Huynh’s passion for fashion came to him rather unexpectedly. His work was born out of necessity: when he was in tenth grade, he needed to find a gift for his younger cousin’s birthday and ended up using nothing more than scrap fabric from the pants that his mom had hemmed for herself (Huynh is quick to joke about his short-limbed family) to construct a vest for one of his cousin’s favorite stuffed monkeys. At only age 15, Huynh rationalized that sewing clothes for people couldn’t be that much more difficult than sewing clothes for stuffed animals, and soon experimented with more. He first sewed together a halter-dress made of inexpensive fabric found in the dollar section of Walmart. After that experience, Huynh says, he “found his stride” and hasn’t stopped since.
Citing style inspirations including the late Alexander McQueen, Viktor & Rolf, Christian Dior, and Christian Siriano, Huynh has shown fashion collections in previous years with various charities and non-profits prior to making his debut at DC Fashion Week this year. In fact, Huynh almost didn’t participate in DC Fashion Week this year, but, encouraged by his peers who fundraised so he could participate, Huynh applied, and, everything since—all the struggles and stress—he admits, has made walking down a fashion week runway at the conclusion of his showcase a “real dream come true.”
What’s even more interesting about Huynh is his multidimensionality. As a full-time student at the George Washington University majoring in biology and minoring in theatre, Huynh has a full plate, but finds time to give back to his community. Huynh has served as an intern for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL), worked at the DC Mayor’s Office on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs, and also volunteers with the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA).
Growing up in a the suburban town of Newburgh, New York, Huynh admits that there were fewer than 10 Asian American peers in his high school, so the cultural education that he received by being around his family was particularly significant. He says that the work that he does now with these organizations is to ensure that these cultural aspects of his identity aren’t lost to time.
Perhaps his label, Lê Tâm, attests to that. He explained that Lê Tâm is actually a Vietnamese name, and, if literally translated, “Lê” would mean ‘pear’ and “Tâm” would mean “to have heart.” His label and his logo—a pear or an inverted heart—is, in a way, a testament to his cultural heritage.
Huynh also sees the political importance of Asian American representation, highlighting the fact how it is important that Asian Americans have equal opportunities in any circumstances they might face, even when it comes to Asian Americans in fashion. Huynh notes that Asian Americans have only recently begun to thrive on the mainstream circuit, but cites untapped potential: “If you think about it, there are only so many Asian designers that have truly made a name for themselves in the fashion world, like Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Philip Lim, or Jason Wu. I think that there is a lot more that the APIA community has to contribute to fashion. It is one thing to be inspired by or influenced by an Asian country or culture, but it’s another thing to actually live it and truly experience it, and then to use that knowledge and apply it to the work that you do.”
His community-oriented mindset doesn’t stop at the AAPI community. When asked about who he would want to design for if given the chance, he says that he’d love to dress “inspirational and influential women” like Ellen Degeneres or Michelle Obama: “They have both done so much work for their communities at-large, and have given back time-and-time again to all of those that are in need. Ellen is a big fan of sporting a blazer, dress shirt, and pants—and sometimes a sweater. I would love to vamp up her daily outfit a bit with a blazer that has more structure to it, with, of course, a crisp fitted pant. As for our beautiful first lady, I’d love to design for her a textured wool coat with some leather detail for her to wear outside for her many community appearances that she makes.”
Huynh is part of the potential he cites, and, it will be exciting to track where this blossoming fashion designer’s career takes him. For now, he says, he wants to take a break to re-gather his creative energy after DC Fashion Week, but he does hope to, one day, showcase a collection at New York Fashion Week. Project Runway is also not out of the question (his favorites are Chloe Dao, Christian Siriano, Leanne Marshall, Michelle Lesniak, and Elena Slivnyak).
When asked about what would bring him the most happiness, however, it’s the simple things that matter: he hopes that, one day, he will walk down the street and see a stranger wearing a garment that he designed: “I can only begin to imagine how much happiness that would bring me.”
Frank Huynh is a senior at the George Washington University, majoring in biology and minoring in theatre. He is from the suburban town of Newburgh, New York, and is currently pursuing a career in public health consulting. Frank now works as the Community Outreach Assistant for the DC Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, as well as the Co-Entertainment Director for the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations national conference.
