For Ashlynn Park, clothing is more than fabric – it’s a dialogue between the wearer and the world. A former protégé of Yohji Yamamoto and alumna of iconic houses like Proenza Schouler and Calvin Klein, Park launched her label ASHLYN with a vision of fusing avant-garde with modern utility. Her pieces, blending historical silhouettes with contemporary cuts, feel like they belong in both a gallery and your wardrobe.
hube: Your work plays with deconstruction and tailoring, blending masculine cuts with feminine elements. How do you strike that balance between structured tailoring and the fluidity that makes your designs feel so fresh?
Ashlynn Park: Blending deconstruction and tailoring, and combining masculine silhouettes with feminine elements, are ways of expressing myself. I have focused on menswear for most of my career, while working at Yohji Yamamoto and, more recently, at Calvin Klein under Raf Simons.
I find joy in exploring the dichotomy between conflicting things and finding a new sense of balance within them – like dreams and reality, or the tension between a celebrated career and everyday family life. I think the feminine elements in my designs are an attempt to express the essential self that has been deep inside me for a long time.
In the end, my designs are the result of the skills and experiences I have accumulated while making menswear, and the emotions and delicacy I have gained from my life as a woman. The harmony between structure and flexibility is the key to bringing freshness to my work.
h: You introduced menswear for AW24. How does designing for men challenge or complement your approach to womenswear, and has it changed your creative vision?
AP: Menswear is my roots as a designer. Since starting ASHLYN, it has always been a dream to create my own menswear, so I created a collection using menswear as the design framework for the Fall/Winter 2024 season. I wanted to discover new feminine silhouettes in the process of creating clothes for various body types without being confined to the female silhouette and, at the same time, establish a foundation for menswear that I will develop more fully someday.
I believe that the design process goes beyond simply creating new garments; it’s about considering the emotions and situations that the wearer will encounter. This experience is emphasised – the way someone feels in the clothes and the energy they get from them. Coincidentally, I have two male assistants, and through the process of designing and experiencing each garment, I want to make them realise how specific emotions can be captured within the design itself.
I always think deeply about the reason and purpose of what I do. It makes me stronger and gives me the confidence to continue. We learned and felt a lot through this season.
h: Your Zero Waste capsule collection addresses the industry’s issue with overproduction. How do you reconcile luxury with sustainability, and what challenges have you faced while staying eco-conscious?
AP: I am a somewhat unique person who finds satisfaction in accomplishing things that others say are impossible. Everyone said that luxury and sustainability are contradictory concepts. However, as I mentioned earlier, I enjoy applying things that do not go together and finding a balance between them. What I focus on is how luxury can embrace sustainability.
Most people only focus on visible things such as deadstock or recycled fabrics when talking about sustainability. It began as an authentic process, but now there’s a tendency to use it as a marketing tactic. I wonder if anyone is truly interested in sustainability. It becomes a topic that brands and institutions campaign around, but little is done to change the materiality of our condition and situation. The biggest challenge is to get people in positions of power to support it in a tangible way, beyond using it as a marketing tool.
Sustainability is not exclusive to certain industries, and we should, as individuals, take responsibility for it. It’s a way of thinking that we should apply to our lives. I try to make it known that we are continuing our efforts in sustainability every season by incorporating zero waste into the designs in a fun way, focusing on minimising the use of resources in the development and production process, and actively utilising the pre-order method to minimise inventory and waste.
Of course, there were difficulties along the way, but most of it was a battle against time. It took a lot of patience to get our message across and for consumers to understand the value of these clothes. We have achieved steady growth every season, which proves that my decision was right.
h: With your creations now featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, what does it mean for you to have your pieces recognised as both cultural artefacts and fashion statements?
AP: Chance and fate. It was like unravelling the invisible threads of destiny. On the Sunday after the SS22 collection launched on Vogue Runway, I received a dreamlike email from the Metropolitan Museum. After going through the selection and verification process across over 20 board members and sponsors, which took several months, the first piece was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum. Since then, a total of three pieces have been preserved in the museum and have been shown at the Lexicon of America and Sleeping Beauty exhibitions.
This event made me stronger, more serious, and more reverent as a designer. Our seriousness can be felt even in the studio atmosphere. Instead of trying to surprise others with unconventional ideas, l’ve dedicated myself to new systems and processes through fashion, our method of communication, and garments that are founded in the study of history.
I’m committed to becoming a designer who sets new standards and leaves a lasting mark. My goal is to contribute to the broader narrative of fashion as a form of communication, grounded in a deep understanding of history.
It is a fate created by coincidence. The moment my name was included there, I felt like all my dreams had come true. I worked even harder to become a designer worthy of the name, and I will continue to do so in the future.
h: You’ve worked with iconic designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Raf Simons. How did these experiences influence your approach to crafting a distinct vision for ASHLYN, and what advice from them still guides you today?
AP: The value of that time seems to have come to me only after I left there and started my own brand. We follow Yohji Yamamoto’s atelier system, meaning there is no designer position – only pattern makers. Pattern makers freely draft patterns to create new shapes and designs. We do not draw sketches, but we constantly create new silhouettes and forms.
As we assemble the patterns into shapes, the designs that exist in our heads take flight and become more solid. There’s a distinction between designing on a flat surface like paper and designing in three dimensions with patterns. In the process of being involved in design from beginning to end, I discover new creativity and immaturity in my designs and reinforce them.
In Japanese education, it is very important for designers to excel at their pattern-making skills and understand design principles. Since establishing my brand and atelier in New York, I have tried to bring this approach and knowledge to the young designers who work with me, giving them the same education and experience I had the privilege of having with Yohji Yamamoto. When I was there, although I had very limited time with Yohji himself, I felt and learned a lot from the people he chose to work there. And naturally, I’m filling my atelier with people like them, teaching them a new way to look at clothes with the same gaze he had, but now with my own creative vision.
h: Your designs carry traces of historical fashion elements like puff sleeves and bustle skirts, yet feel completely modern. How do you incorporate historical references without them feeling dated?
AP: It may be because the things I still feel are the most beautiful are from the past. I try to bring those beautiful things into the present by reinterpreting them through my worldview. My works cannot be far from modernity because I live in the present, even though they are, in their essence, close to the beauty of the past.
I put a lot of effort into clearly conveying my worldview. I know well that no matter how complex the input is, my work will end up being concise and clear, never excessive.
And I also work diligently to describe the process of this design. I start with different inspirations every season, but the woman I dress in these clothes is always the same. And this woman lives her life day by day like me and is not fixed in any era. While this woman knows with certainty what she likes, she also values the perspectives of others. This empowered woman will never fall behind the times.
h: You’ve always spoken about the importance of craftsmanship in your work. In an industry driven by trends and mass production, what does craftsmanship mean to you, and how do you preserve it at ASHLYN?
AP: Design has no established standards or correct answers. One day it may be praised, and the next it may be criticised. It can feel like we’re constantly fighting for something that cannot be grasped.
In contrast, craftsmanship is a field that one can firmly grasp. Once it’s in my hands, it becomes a part of me that cannot be taken away or lost. This is my core. It stimulates me, it becomes a driving force that motivates me to pursue better goals and provides me with a tangible value that brings me comfort.
The beautifully crafted lines and the elegantly formed silhouettes offer me comfort and satisfaction, and they continue to move me. The silhouettes of all my designs are created at my fingertips, and they are refined through my eye. I hope that the jackets and dresses made with my craftsmanship will bring comfort and inspiration to many.
Photography courtesy of ASHLYNN PARK
