In this issue of ASIAN VOICE, we feature UOOYAA, a brand that concentrates on expressing inner spirit of contemporary women’s freedom, bravery and fun. In this issue, we take a deep dive into how UOOYAA convey its messages to unrestrained modern young women, who are full of adventure.
Nana : Can you give our readers an introduction to the brand, UOOYAA?
UOOYA : UOOYAA is a brand of modern spirit. We focus on expressing the inner spirit of contemporary women’s freedom, bravery and fun. Moreover, UOOYAA maintains a state of opposition in design, such as strength and softness, avant-garde and retro.
Nana : Why did you decide to name it “UOOYAA”?
UOOYAA : UOOYAA is pronounced as crow in Chinese. At first, I chose this name because I thought crow is a cool bird. Later, it was changed to “乌丫” because “乌鸦” could not be registered. It can be understood as a cute girl with healthy skin color.
Nana : What has influenced the creation of the brand and the pieces designed for your brand?
UOOYAA : Part of it is the drastic changes in China in recent decades, which have produced great changes in concepts, cultural fusion, magical reality and infinite possibilities of imagination, such as music and movies in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese animation and two-dimensional culture, Unique scenes in China’s urban and rural changes, etc. These are real and interesting emotional links. On the other hand, I am also deeply influenced by modern artists such as Duchamp and Nauman. Their expression of personal concepts through art is also the underlying thinking of the brand.
Nana : What are some of the challenges you have faced during the course of building your brand?
UOOYAA : The initial challenge of a brand is the issue of survival, and in the mid-term, brands will also experience challenges such as the impact of the epidemic and the development of online business. But the biggest challenge has always been the insistence on “what we want to be” and the need to continuously build the company’s capabilities to support this vision. For example, when the brand achieves 6 or 7 years, we will face a decision whether to continue expanding the market scale or temporarily stop Market expansion re-examined our own problems, and finally we decided to suspend the store and work hard to polish the brand, product and team.
Nana : How do you come up and decide on the themes for your collections on each seasons?
UOOYAA : It mainly comes from the observation and thinking of the society, and the expression of this thinking is reflected in the theme creativity.
Nana : Is it possible to let readers know a little about your next collection?
UOOYAA : The theme of the next season is “Reminiscence of the Lost Years”, which is to express the image of an urban cool girl who has experienced the baptism of years and still maintains her love for life in a poetic, sexy and joyful way. Compared with the previous series, this season will have some new three-dimensional tailoring and some flowing or drapery fabrics, as well as more dramatic expressions of tension.
Nana : Is there a particular artist, movie, place, book that you would recommend our readers
to check for inspiration?
UOOYAA : The hope that Shanghai will return to normal as soon as possible is the best source of inspiration and motivation.
Nana : Do you have any advice for our readers who are seeking to find a way to build a brand and pursue a career in fashion?
UOOYAA : The challenge of branding is comprehensive ability, including aesthetics, creativity, business sense and even organizational ability, etc. In the digital age, it is also important to know how to use new media tools to seize opportunities. But I think the most important thing is to truly express one’s attitude, which is the anchor of all external technologies and means.
The most important thing is to truly express one’s attitude.
UOOYAA
Official Website: uooyaa.com
