We recently connected with Leng Chin and have shared our conversation below.
Leng, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
What helps me with my creative process is appreciating life and doing the things I love like surrounding myself with family, traveling, hiking, going to concerts, and discovering new foods. I take a lot of pictures so that I can revisit them and piece my concepts together by experimenting with colors from places that I’ve visited, or building silhouettes from things I’ve seen in nature. I believe that through curiosity, I continue to draw inspiration from my personal experiences. I preserve those experiences to learn, let go, and keep myself going no matter how hard things get.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started doing fashion from a place of wanting to be educated on what goes on in the industry, where to start, and knowing where as well as what to research. LENG CHIN is my fashion brand: I think the way I design my pieces intuitively through my personal experiences is what makes the process special. I want my designs to show that from darkness, there will always be light. I truly feel my designs come from a place of healing, finding myself through creating and hoping for a successful future. Right now I am focused on making collections more consistently, I want to be able to show new designs every year or every other year. For the first time, I have my menswear collection “PRESERVATION” exclusively available on my website at lengchin.com.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
From my experience, it is important you know how to make techpacks, which involves giving a manufacturing company every detail of the garment that you want to be made. Down to the placement of the sewing lines, to the trims, the colors, the length, and the width. Understanding that constructing a garment involves math and interchangeably, the natural curves of the body. The second skill I think is important to learn is how to use a sewing machine so that you can make alterations to a garment. Being able to alter your clothes helps give new life to existing garments. When you know how to construct/alter a garment, you also understand how different fabrications work together. Lastly, fabric sourcing and finding quality materials are important in how you want your garments to drape. When you work for yourself you are doing the job of multiple people. I am the creative director, designer, sewer, technical designer, pattern maker, sourcing manager, etc. My biggest advice to other artists is to make art for yourself. People around you will want to tell you how you should do things, but you know what makes you happy. Remember why you started and stay true to yourself.
When you think about doing something often, that is when you should start. For example, you want to learn how to crochet and you are constantly looking up how to do it but haven’t brought up the courage to acquire the supplies to start. Learn to set small goals for yourself to build habits. Sometimes it helps to get yourself out of the house to get inspired- visit a park, an art exhibit, or watch a movie. It is doing the small things that can spark an unpredictable idea.
Designing is something that you need to think about every day and create for as long as possible. Question everything. Be curious about what the future holds for fashion. Creativity is the only skill you need to start your journey. Practice your creativity, it is like a muscle, the less you practice the more you lose the ability to do it. We have the habit of creating for others, but we forget that we are capable of creating for ourselves.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I think that the biggest area of growth this past year has been accepting the things I cannot change and the art of letting go. My dad passed away from nasopharyngeal cancer this year in June, and the first thing that I thought of was being present for my mother. I went into this year preparing for my second showcase and I was struck with a huge wave of self-doubt. It was a struggle to find the strength to finish “PRESERVATION”, my menswear collection. On top of that, my dad’s health had been the worst it had ever been and I felt helpless. I tried to stay consistent- whether I was able to sew for an hour a day or 5 hours a day. I was able to get to my goal because I didn’t give up. After the showcase, I was beyond proud of myself, my accomplishments, and the people who helped me along my journey. I was able to let go of the anxiety and pressure that I put on myself for three and a half months. I felt like I had a lot to prove- not just to myself but to my family, friends, and other people who supported me. But I’ve learned that you can lose yourself trying to prove yourself to others. These last six years have been a battle for my family and me, but we stayed resilient. I used to feel guilty for not being home more, but I knew my dad wanted me to live my life. These past few months, I reflected on the memories that we had and I’ll cherish them forever. I’m learning to forgive myself and accept the things I cannot change. I want to live and be more present for myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lengchin.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelengchin/
- Other: https://www.behance.net/thelengchin
Image Credits
Cheyenne Evans, Hunter Vassar IV, and Jacob Huckeba
