BEYOND THE BORDER: YA YI STUDIO

THE SHANGHAI-BASED LABEL CENTERS MULTICULTURALISM, TAKING DICHOTOMIES IN STRIDE.

Yayi Chen Zhou founded Ya Yi in 2022, entering the ranks of a legion of talented young designers making a name for themselves in Shanghai. She stands out for her dynamic bridging of Eastern and Western craft; Yayi has spent roughly equal spans of time in Shanghai, Madrid, and New York, teasing out cultural parallels and points of tension that lend her garments a unique edge.

A knit sweater, for instance, might trail off into fringe—a signature of the flamenco shawl, which has origins in Guangdong. Motifs interchangeable or in-conversation appear across the studio’s output, via patterns, textiles, and sculptural forms. In 2024, Ya Yi was a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize. It’s an accolade that’s delivered her label a bigger audience, greater opportunity and access, and the network to expand. But they’re biding their time, moving down a sustainable path.

This ethos reflects Yayi’s understanding of her practice as something closer to art than fashion. She hosts frequent performances, incorporates historical and filmic elements—offering her community a truly intimate feel for her work. At the end of the day, she’s guided by a multicultural perspective, where each new piece has an origin and a reason for existing, moving a rich narrative forward.

Beyond the Border is a series spotlighting international designers—crossing not just physical boundaries, but also creative ones. It harnesses the power of AI to set designs in motion, photographed traditionally, then animated for the online realm.

MORGAN BECKER: How would you describe the fashion scene in Shanghai, and how does YA YI Studio fit into the mix?

YAYI CHEN ZHOU: Shanghai Fashion Week has only been around since 2001, so there is a freshness, a feeling that people are still experimenting. There is quite a diverse set of aesthetics. Designers are in the process of figuring out what it means to be a brand in China, and how that translates internationally.

I was born and raised in Madrid to a southern Chinese family. I’ve lived about ten years each in Madrid, Shanghai, and New York. [Ya Yi’s] work often focuses on the multicultural, whether that be stories of immigrants or tracing the history of craft across continents. I also try to work in multidisciplinary ways, incorporating elements of film and performance to break through traditional forms of expression.

MB: Are these disparate elements ever difficult to bridge, within a given collection?

YCZ: Bridging East and West has been part of my life from the time I was born. Similar to many other second- and third-generation immigrants from ’90s Europe, I grew up [in my family’s] working space, the Chinese restaurant. In general, working-class immigrants are ignored, and that is even more prominent for people of color in the Western world. Some older generations are not able to learn the language of their new country and rely on their children or their small communities to live.

For Spring/Summer 2025, rather than exploring the story of immigrants, we explored the history of craft in the East and West. When we look at history with a focus on multiculturalism, we are often able to find areas where two cultures relate, or interesting points of tension. For example, we looked at the traditional papier maché that dates back to Han Dynasty China; it was used to lacquer helmets and armor before spreading to Europe. We [played with] this manipulation of soft and hard, using rice paper to mold the female body, transforming metallic steel yarns into organic knits and reimagining the rigidity of corsets.

MB: You keep a muted palette, but your clothing is texturally very rich. What inspired that balance?

YCZ: For anyone living a multicultural life, there is a mysterious, complex interior life that is often muted [for the purpose of assimilating] to whatever the current environment is. The fabrics are a physical manifestation of that dichotomy—a reflection of finding the poetry in these interior fantasies.

MB: How does performance connect, in your eyes, with fashion?

YCZ: Sometimes I feel like the creation of garments alone does not fulfill my need for expression, so I like to work with collaborators from other mediums. Performance gives us a heightened sense that clothing on its own might not be able to convey. Holding a performance is also about creating a physical space and asking an audience to be there—to experience it and take it in. It is asking the audience to be present for a ceremony, for a coming-together, that will never be repeated in the same way. It is asking them to immerse themselves fully into the story unfolding in front of them.

MB: Your last collection was dedicated to the “artisan spirit.” What does that term mean to you?

YCZ: The artisan spirit starts with people—craftspeople, whose labor, creativity, and innovation form expertise generation after generation. Their lives are rich in skill and connection to an artistic lineage. The nobility that comes from working towards something beautiful is earned by an artisan’s own hands.

Take, for example, xuanzhi, Chinese rice paper: strong, smooth, resistant to corrosion, mold, and moths—a true testament to beauty and utility. The process takes two years, with over 100 steps. It yields paper as thin as a cicada’s wing. The dedication required to master xuanzhi is something profound, imparting a certain kind of internal wealth and dignity.

MB: Do you have a muse? Or if you could dress anyone, who would you choose?

YCZ: My debut collection, IT IS NOT SPRING, UNTIL ALL FLOWERS BLOSSOM, was in response to my experience working alongside Chinese and Latin American garment-makers in New York—whose names are scarcely mentioned by the industry or celebrated designers. They are my first muses. The collection commemorates the 1982 Garment Strike which took place in New York’s Chinatown. On Mott Street, over 20,000 garment-workers—almost entirely women—marched to Columbus Park. They donned union hats and raised picket signs to press for the renewal of their contracts.

MB: How has your label changed since your LVMH recognition?

YCZ: We have a bigger audience, both in China and internationally, and we were able to host our first runway presentation at Shanghai Fashion Week last year. There are more opportunities, but we are focused on expanding in a thoughtful, sustainable way.

MB: Where do you hope to take things from here?

YCZ: We would love to be in Paris next, for access to European raw materials and techniques, as well as feedback from the European market through showroom presentations and potential collaborations. The craftsmanship we could incorporate into our future work is something we strive for.