How Do You Get a Show During Fashion Week?

For those who know anything about fashion, you will know that this is Fashion Week in Manhattan. The top designers from around the word present their lines to the press, eager movie stars, high-end boutiques and clothing stores. What follows is Jasmine Tabalujan Chong’s story of how she just premiered her line. Those hoping to find out how to achieve a dream will learn great things from her that extend beyond clothing

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where did you grow up and can you mention something about your family?

I grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Malaysian-Chinese and Indonesian-Chinese parents. My older brother Jason and sister Jacintha both graduated from the University of Virginia. Now, they both live in Jakarta, Indonesia. Jason is a director at a hedge fund, hunting for undervalued assets in a range of industries. Jacintha has 2 beautiful children, Ella & Micah, and is also my long distance partner in the label. 

Your parents were ahead of the curve in that they knew they wanted their children to have an international education. How did they arrive at this decision?

I've been exceedingly fortunate that my parents had the foresight to provide me with an international education. They experienced high school education in Australia and felt that their children deserved the same. After high school, they took us on family trips to the UK and the United States- and allowed us to choose where we wanted to be for university. All 3 of us chose the United States, and I believe we chose well. 

Can you describe the secondary school you attended and how hard it was to compete among the students?

I attended Toorak College in Mount Eliza, Australia. The school encouraged creativity and leadership, and in my senior year, I became the first non-Australian to hold the title of Writers' Captain. I remember sitting on stage along with a few other School Captains during assembly, and the Principal would ask me to speak to the entire school off-the-cuff. This was the place I truly feel I gained confidence. I was never very good at math, or athletics, but at Toorak College I was encouraged to develop my strengths and focus on things like Literature, Drama, and Singing. 

You were not the first in your family to apply to universities in the US. Did this make it easier for you or was there pressure for you to follow the path?

 It made things easier because I had a path paved for me in terms of the requirements for an international student in the US (SATs, visa applications). 

You applied and were accepted to Uva. When you came what was the biggest adjustment for you? You encountered some challenges and overcame them. Do you want to talk about this?

Both my siblings graduated from UVa, so I was exposed to a lot of UVa pride. I attended for one year, and found it an incredibly fulfilling experience. However, it became clear very soon that it wasn't the perfect fit academically. I loved words, but I also loved making things. So I took time off, apprenticed under a fine artist, worked on my portfolio and was accepted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Some may say that first year at UVa was a wasted year, I strongly disagree. It was life-changing. Some of my closest friends in New York are friends I held on to from UVa, and I believe the challenges I went through there gave me the tenacity and drive to push through art/design school and eventually, launching my label. 

When I first got to know you I was already aware you were creative and artistic. Can you trace when you first knew you had an eye that could see and imagine and crate things most of can not? 

I remember being around 5 years old, and spending afternoons filling sketchbooks with drawings of girls in dresses. In particular, I remember "designing" a collection for the Von Trapp children after watching my favourite musical of all time - The Sound of Music. I adored the idea of Maria fashioning clothing for the Von Trapp children out of drapes, and coincidentally... this was actually how I created the first look in my upcoming F/W 2016 collection. It was 1AM, I had run out of muslin, so I tore up my cream bedsheets to drape a dress that is now the opening look for the collection. 

Did you have a mentor back home and if so who was it? Did you have a mentor at Uva? What were the experiences—either classes or activities or groups—that helped develop your passions?

My parents were always my biggest supporters and mentors. When I left UVa, they chose to focus on my strengths, encouraging me to work on a portfolio and get the best possible art education I could. 

Did you have a firm plan for what you wanted to do after university? If so can you describe it? If not can you take us through your experience after university that led you to fashion?

I remember my first runway show during my sophomore year at SAIC, seeing my model laughing as she swayed and sashayed in a top and skirt I made, and it became clear to me in that single moment that I wanted to make clothes women feel good in. I then moved to New York, gained experience in various facets of fashion while still staying very much in love with design, and finally, I decided to study the business side of fashion at Parsons as the final step before launching my label. Every class, internship, and job I took following that moment at my sophomore runway show drew me closer and closer to where I wanted to be. 

Before I ask you to talk about your show in the upcoming fashion week in NYC can you talk a bit about how you got to where you are now? In other words, if you were giving advice to others about how to be where you are  what would you say to them? Is there a road to success or are there happy accidents or some of both?

In a creative field like fashion, the path to success is often blurry. And then there's the big question of what success means to a creative person. For me, it's making women feel beautiful in my clothes, and to create collections that tell stories. During my first fashion internship at the design room of Anna Sui, she advised me to know my voice, know my craft, and to stay true to myself. I've held on to that for years. I would also add that it's important to pay your dues, and to work hard. The world owes you nothing, but if you have a voice and you push hard enough, things eventually align and the universe somehow gives you what you want. Oh, and never let anyone tell you that your dreams are out of reach - they're wrong. 

Can you give some describing of what your show will be like? Can you include some photos?

The collection came to me when I started thinking about how I’ve always loved vintage botanical illustrations from the 1900s, and how delicate and fluid they are. I started thinking about what these illustrators did for a living, putting ink and paint to paper, and I found it all so evocative- this idea of preserving the colour and life of something that is fleeting. One day, I was at the botanical gardens, taking photographs of the lush equatorial greens in the greenhouse. This is when the collection truly settled upon me. I wanted to tell a story about finding beauty in the ephemeral. I’ve found that often, the things that do not last are the most compelling and beautiful. It will be moody, luminous, and fluid - while simultaneously remaining very true to my aesthetic. 

Are there fashion designers who have influenced you? What do you want your clothes to say? Who is the audience you are trying to reach? 

Alber Elbaz. He’s achieved the pinnacle of success in fashion– he was Creative Director of Lanvin. Yet he has stayed grounded, true to himself and the art of design. My favourite quote is  something he once said, “"I’m still feeling that a dancer should dance and a chef should cook  and a singer should sing and a designer of clothes should do clothes. Because the moment we try to do everything for ourselves, we’re becoming very mediocre in what we do, and we don’t go to extremes and we don’t touch excellence. And I prefer to touch excellence." I think it’s so important to be honest about your strengths, and to truly know your voice.

The woman I design for embraces quiet luxury, and adores beautiful and subtle details. She knows precisely what she wants from the world. She is soft, yet also strong.

To get to where you are you have to be able to get through a lot of competition and setbacks. What gave you the confidence and grit to stick with your dream?

I think going through the setbacks and failures instilled drive and resilience in me. When you're at a low point of uncertainty, you have no choice but to bounce back and regain your balance. I don't know if I would've had the fire to be working on my dream if everything in my life went smoothly, according to the original plan. Somewhere along the way, someone (or several) questioned or even discouraged my dreams, and that stirred something within me. I've never had any doubt that they were wrong, and I knew I was pursuing the right path for me. 

Is there anything else you want to add?

I want to thank you, Parke, for being such a luminous mentor figure to me. Your advice and confidence in me propelled me through some of my most difficult days, and I have you to thank for the clarity that I've had in my career. 

How can people purchase your line? Do you have a website etc.?

When the season begins, we will launch e-commerce, and hopefully be stocked in some retail stores. The website is https://jasminechong.com, sign up for our mailing list to keep yourself updated! 

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Jasmine’s words should inspire all of us. She is indefatigable in her pursuit of her dream. The photos of her work demonstrate she is a true artist. 

Her words also have an important moral. Her road to success was not always linear. She was willing to travel and live on three continents to pursue her education. Her parents were supportive and her siblings too. Pursuing education is a family affair for them.

But Jasmine also found that her first university in the US was not the best fit. She had followed family tradition but that still did not make it right for what she wanted. She was smart enough to know she needed a break and got real world experience. For some, taking time off does not seem an option. It is. Some people need to find themselves and to find ways that will be life affirming. Some th9ink getting through university is a race to be run. It isn’t. It is a chance to learn over time and no one should rush through if they have any choice in the matter (some are forced to go through because of money of course).

Jasmine was brave enough to search out the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was, clearly, a better fit (Pun intended). Fit is that word that everyone in the world of college admission uses but too often it seems to be a rather vague and abstract concept that does not actually mean much. Even so, there are ways of feeling if a school feels right and Jasmine was smart enough to choose a new school that fit her. A student who transfers schools in many cases demonstrates that they have changed in some way. For some this means they are trying to transfer up—into a more selective school. In some cases I encourage students who want to leave a school where they are doing remarkably well to satay instead. The call of higher rankings is not a good reason to leave. But for those who wish to find new opportunities and new atmosphere and focus then transfer makes perfect sense.

I have been very lucky to be able to get to know Jasmine and her family. Jacinta and Jason are great in their own ways. It demonstrates how the family as a whole encourages each child to develop themselves according to their individual strengths rather than in trying to fit into a preset mold.

Jasmine has a very bright future ahead of her. I would like to thank her for taking the time to do this interview right at the time of her show. I look forward to following her career as she heads to the top of the fashion world.