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Luly Yang: Dreaming Big, Flying High
by Karen Reed-Matthee

Luly Yang knows that inside every busy, mature woman there is a little girl who loves to dress up — who still wants to be a princess.

Entering the couture designer’s studio-boutique on a drizzly fall afternoon in my Gore-Tex jacket and sturdy boots, I can’t help but feel that little girl in me rise to the surface. Maybe it’s the boudoir setting with its pale blue, beige and gold décor, antique French settees with down-filled cushions and lush sculpted carpet. Or maybe it’s the glass cases and shelves that artfully display dangling jewel earrings and sparkly shoes and purses that are anything but practical. Then there are the racks of dresses billowing out in an elegant riot of color, shape and texture I can’t resist touching. Even if these dresses that run into the thousands are beyond my budget, I can dream …

Luly Yang understands dreams. They are what inspired her seven years ago to leave a career in architectural design and open a tiny, windowless studio in downtown Seattle with just 12 dress samples. Her current location, nicknamed the “fashion spa,” is on the Fourth Avenue side of The Fairmont Olympic Hotel and is a far cry from those simple digs. It’s large enough to house her boutique, sewing room and design studio, and there are plenty of big windows to display her creations.

Dreaming was also the theme of Yang’s big annual fashion show in September that launched next year’s collection of bridal gowns and women and men’s evening wear with 91 new designs. Held at the Paramount Theater, “Dreams Take Flight” was a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and included some of the patients as models. Her own childhood dreams of flying were the stimulus for the designs and seemed appropriate, Yang says, for a show dedicated to helping kids. The theme is borne out in the “Milky Way,” a flowing black gown with a spiraling silver and white galaxy print, as it is in a many-colored, off-the-shoulder creation called “Aurora Borealis.” Many of the designs, including these two, have short and long versions.

While these gowns reflect the playful, whimsical side of Yang as artist, her dresses can also be simple and elegant; a silvery blue silk wrap for instance, or a form-fitting plum satin. Yang’s creations are crafted out of European and Asian satin, silk and lace, and the impressions of other cultures gained in her travels abroad are reflected in the eclectic nature of her designs. There’s something for everyone, even in our casual, Gore-Tex-loving town — where, Yang is quick to note, we demand well-designed, high-quality outdoor apparel.

“Seattle ladies are very refined in their taste,” says Yang, comfortably chic in her own cashmere dress and “Vespa” pink patent leather platforms. “It’s not about fling; it’s about soulful design. We’re just a little softer spoken here in Seattle.” Of course there’s always the exception to the rule, she adds, noting that she recently sold a silver-spangled mini dress called “Disco Moon” to a Seattleite.

Yang attributes her success to understanding the needs and desires of her clientele and recognizing early on that couture could work here. Offering exclusive, custom-fitted fashions “is not the most efficient way to go,” she admits. “I consider them commissioned art pieces.”

But without a doubt, there is a demand for her bridal and “special event” gowns. “We are a very philanthropic city; people do amazing things with their money,” Yang observes. “With each event, there needs to be a special dress.” She wishes there had been a boutique like hers when she was a bride.”

Her designs have been featured in many bridal and fashion magazines, and she has attracted clients in other cities, including Hollywood, where she’s designed for celebrities such as Vanessa Minnillo, Josie Bissett and Mary Hart. Recently, Yang was awarded the Women Business Owners’ Nellie Cashman award honoring local women entrepreneurs for their leadership in business and the community.

Because of her success, Yang at 39 has been able to slow her pace a bit. Until recently, she ran a one-woman show. Now she has a staff of 12, plus two interns. She has “the best seamstress, the best fitters.” She can afford a more balanced lifestyle, and that helps a great deal when you have a 3-year-old son.

As the daughter of an engineer and a print artist/calligrapher, you could say that artistry and design are in Luly Yang’s blood. Her family moved to Seattle from Taiwan in 1978. She earned a degree in graphic design from the University of Washington and worked for five years designing interior spaces. Yang claims it wasn’t much of a leap to design for the human form. On her Web site www.lulyyang.com, she writes, “I love to sculpt clothing around the organic shapes of the body and see the garment come alive in movement, creating the ideal balance between form and function.”

Even if a Luly Yang original isn’t on your shopping list, it’s fun just to stroll by her window displays, in the same way you’d visit an art gallery. I’ve got my eye on a blue cashmere day dress from her new cashmere line — when my ship comes in.

Karen Reed-Matthee is the editor and cofounder of Seattle Woman.

©2007 Caliope Publishing Company