TALK TO ME! LCF MA SPECIAL - CHERRY YUEN

It was quite random to meet Cherry Yuen, shoes designer from LCF. I was at the LCF MA exhibition which showcased all the work from non fashion design students and a high-heel with a streamline draping at the front kept attracting me. The intimacy is the first impression she gave me since we are form the same city, Hong Kong. This graduate collection is inspired by surrealism, referring to Meret Oppenheim's Fur Breakfast, Rene Magritte's Les Amants and Salvador Dali's Persistence Memory and bringing them to unique materials. All those shoes with feminine draping would be your dream shoes what you have searched for ages, wouldn't they?

Tell us about your background, why did you apply LCF for a MA course?
Before I became a footwear designer, I specialized in womenswear fashion design, having obtained my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I previously worked for Celine and Alexander Wang. I enrolled in the MA Fashion Footwear course at LCF to learn more about footwear design and to further develop my project management skills.

How do you describe your own style? What is the must-have in your wardrobe?
My designs are sophisticated, sharp, sexy, chic and modern.
My must have is a well made pair of high heels.

How do you describe your fashion aesthetic?
Polished and minimal.

How do you see the balance between conceptual and commercial in the fashion industry?
It is hard to the balance right. It is important to remain creative. But interesting concepts which have been fully developed to function are the ones which are most desirable.

Can you tell me more about your collection? Is there any difficulty for designing shoes comparing with designing clothes?
They both have their difficulties. The technicalities are very different between clothing and footwear. In my MA project I developed draping (normally used in clothing) into footwear construction which
made the pattern cutting and shoemaking process very difficult because they required non-traditional techniques.

There are many emerging designers in the industry. Is there anyone that you really want to collaborate or work with?
Phoebe English.

As a LCF graduate, do you have any advice for other fashion students?
Be true to what they believe in.

What is your next plan after graduate?
I will be looking for design consultant positions at renowned brands and will also be setting up my label to continue some of my own projects.

photos by Alejandro Cavallo and Andrei Zach

To know more about Cherry, please visit her website or her LCF page