Seventh
Avenue's Korean Gem
From
South Korea to The Big Apple, Fashion Designer Gemma Kahng Has What
It Takes.
By
Phalana Tiller
Photography
by Tony Fong
The arrival of Gemma Kahng (pronounced jem-ah) to the upper echelons
of the international fashion world has come by way of a journey
around the world and through multiple cultural influences and training
experiences. As the founder and designer of Gemma Kahng, and the
newer UNIFORM line, Gemma now sits proudly at the helm of a multi-million
dollar corporation. Her personal style is crisp and modern, yet
ageless and feminine. Her vibrant persona flows right out into her
garments, creating adistinctive combination of soft sensuality and
unmistakable strength.
Located right in Manhattan’s fashion district, Gemma Kahng’s
studio is a small hub of concentrated creativity and energy which
has managed to make an impact all over the world. The quiet aura
of the space belies the focus and productivity that emanates from
within. Staffed by a relatively small number of people and tastefully
decorated, the space functions as the design, production, wholesale
and shipping center for the company. Walking through the offices
one sees patterns and transparencies being made in one room, sheets
of textiles being cut in another, and sewers in yet another room
quietly putting finishing touches on pieces, before ultimately arriving
at the breathtaking collection of colors and textures as it all
comes together on the racks in the show area.
| Animal
patterned handbags from the UNIFORM line |
|
 |
|
Gemma
sits in front of some of her clothing samples in her showroom
on Seventh Ave in the heart of New York’s fashion district.
|
|
|
Gemma
Kahng’s life began in South Korea, where she spent her childhood
before her family relocated to the United States. Named Shin Kyong
at birth, she took the name Gemma as her Catholic confirmation
name. Gemma would later change the spelling of her last name to
better ensure that it would be pronounced correctly. Kahng’s
father’s work as a university professor took her as a young
girl, along with the rest of her family, to a small town in Michigan.
To her parents, initial dismay, she got “bored” in this
town and left to go to art school in Chicago. Gemma spent five
years in Chicago studying at the Art Institute; it was there that
she realized her passion for fashion. She quickly set her sights
on America’s fashion Mecca, New York City -- Seventh Avenue
to be exact.
Her first years in New York were spent in a typical designer’s
cycle of freelancing and assisting while honing her skills and
vision before striking out on her own. To her relief, not to mention
that of her quietly worried parents, Gemma’s foray into the
world of independent design proved to be a wise one. She managed
to not only survive but to soar.
_____________________________________________
Gemma
has retained some of her Korean language skills
and has picked up “un poquito de español” in
order to communicate
with her staff of sewers, and revels in the diversity that New
York City provides...
_____________________________________________
Today, Gemma exudes a global savoir faire as she talks about her
inspirations and philosophies. “I love to draw from the classics,
I feel strongly that you must know the basics before you can be
successful at being inventive. . .for example, you can’t
really write new and unique music if you don’t know the scales,
or know what has been done before”. She also explains that
her ideas about texture, function and style draw heavily on an
ability and penchant for mixing up cultural references. “I
like to look at how a specific thing in one culture can be applied
to a different setting and perhaps adjusted in some small ways
to create an entirely new idea”. She describes an idea for
a coat that grew out of her attraction to East Asian nomads who
wrap themselves in beautiful wool blankets. Gemma also confidently
admits to being inspired by the work of her contemporaries. “I
am not afraid to admit that I wear the work of other designers,
and that I appreciate their work. I like Gaultier, Dolce and Gabbana,
among others”.
Gemma has retained some of her Korean language skills and has
picked up “un poquito de español” in order to
communicate with her staff of sewers, and revels in the diversity
that New York City provides and the practicality of goods and
services available in the city. “I love the fact that New
York is like a little world right here in one city. This city
is so universal, so cosmopolitan. I can walk down a street in
Chinatown and sometimes forget whether I am in Hong Kong or New
York. I can eat food from around the globe and hear languages
from places far away. What other place in the world is like this?
I think I will always be in New York, but I will always be aware
of what else is going on out in the world.”
From
a previous Fall/Winter Gemma Kahng Collection
|
Gemma’s ability to incorporate widely- based
artistic and cultural influences has earned her a reputation as
a skilled designer and successful business woman. Although her company
has been a financial boon, she says she would not recommend owning
and operating one’s own line except to only the hardiest workaholic.
“I think it is much easier to simply be a designer; running
a business is a much, much different experience. You have to be
aware of so much, and be prepared to completely reinvent yourself
and your product constantly”.
_____________________________________________
“I want to offer the best I can. I’m never satisfied
with just what I’ve
already achieved or accomplished, I want to continue learning
and growing as an artist while I also refine and perfect my
business”.
_____________________________________________
“If I still had a choice, I think I might just like to be
an artist of some sort; but I am here now, and Seventh Avenue
is a cutthroat business environment and I have to make certain
sacrifices in order to maintain a balance between art and business”,
Gemma’s balancing act has resulted in being internationally
recognized and featured in both top fashion and business publications,
including Vogue and the Wall Street Journal. “I want to offer
the best I can. I’m never satisfied with just what I’ve
already achieved or accomplished, I want to continue learning
and growing as an artist while I also refine and perfect my business”.
Because she is far more interested in focusing on her creative
work, Gemma leaves the direct sales to the retailers. Over 100
retailers throughout the world carry Gemma Kahng and UNIFORM,
and in the U.S. her styles can be found in stores such as Bloomingdale’s.
While heading this successful design house, she sees herself as
a combination of the classically focused tailor and the creatively
free designer, who also knows how to run a business. Gemma wants
to continue to be a designer of beautiful garments who carries
on a tradition of quality craftsmanship and knowledge, yet who
offers new and attractive options to globally savvy, urban and
sophisticated women.
The story of Gemma’s journey from school girl in South Korea
to ultra-hip New York fashion designer and successful businesswoman
inspires easy references to the “American Dream”; it
is easy to point to Gemma as an example of what is possible for
immigrants to achieve in America. She is also an easy candidate
for a women’s equity and capability spokesperson. The more
important label however is the one that comes from Gemma’s
own words, “I am someone who has always been concerned with
art and aesthetics. I will always find some station in life that
allows me to express my sense of beauty and art”. Gemma is
a proud artist, a successful businesswoman and a New Yorker with
a fierce fashion flair who, incidentally, is also an immigrant.
,
 |
|
Born
in Botswana, Southern Africa (and raised between there and
Alexandria, Virginia), Phalana now lives between New York
City and Johannesburg, South Africa. Besides contributing
to UM as a writer and editor, she also works as a film and
television actor. She can be seen in the upcoming comedy “Recipe
for Disaster”; as a sometime VJ on M2; and co-starring
in the South African sit-com “The Carruthers Brothers”.
She thanks her sister Michaela for being an example of grace
and an inspiration for excellence.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Tony
Fong is a first-generation Chinese Canadian whose parents
emigrated from Hong Kong. Born and raised in Toronto, Tony
has lived in Miami and Montreal, but now splits his time between
New York and Toronto. Tony’s mission is to “eat,
drink, and be merry!”, and especially likes to “encounter
new people, and their cultures and to eat their food!”
He loves to travel and will go anywhere for work. |
This website: Copyright © 2000 Dream World Media/ Urban Mozaik
Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik
Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and
the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication,
in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission
from the publisher.
|
