Met Gala this, Met Gala that. What is the Met Gala? And what is so special about it that it captures the world's attention on the first Monday of every May? What does the costume institute do? If you've ever been curious about the Met Gala and are curious about this year's event -- this episode is for you!

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Follow @newyork.ccc on IG for more events like the one we did at the Met Gala's exhibit: Women Dressing Women

"The Craze for Feminine Rage" by Emily Tom

"Your Satin Ribbons Will Not Save You" by Salome Sol

Women Love Power - Feminine Archetypes

Dark Feminine Designers/Brands Mentioned:

Elena Velez

Mirror Palais

SS24 Alaia by Pieter Mulier

Check out the time stamps below to skip around!

Vivian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivian.z/

You might cross Faith on the street and think to yourself, "My goodness, what a beautiful and well dressed girl!"

I am soooooo excited to bring this SS24 Couture Week review episode of Changing Room Thoughts to you today! Joined by my very knowledgeable and insightful guests Ari Arvand and Edward Park we uncover all the juicy details of this season's finest masterworks and biggest flops.

Shop DAWANG here

There is something so undeniably gorgeous about the Qi Pao. The refined, structured tailoring. The divine hand-feel of silk brocade. As a Chinese American -- it's always been a shame to me that I felt I could only celebrate the beauty of my heritage's sartorial culture on rare occasions. You may have seen traditional Chinoiserie at weddings and graduations, but on a day-to-day Chinese Americans don a more "practical" and "casual" dress as dictated by our obviously euro-centric culture.

In comes DAWANG -- a shining beacon of expressive hope for fashion-forward Chinese Americans who can finally fill this hole in their closet and their hearts. After taking a class on subcultures, Chinese-born Daisy Wang realized that nobody was making the type of elevated Asian streetwear that she wanted to consume—comfortable, ready to wear, and not a gimmick. DAWANG's brocade patterns in lavender, periwinkle, cobalt, and orange are sewn into practical streetwear silhouettes--allowing the wearer to enjoy the beauty and heritage of Chinese sericulture day to day.

DAWANG (大王) means "Big King" and is a New York-based contemporary streetwear design brand that draws influences from East and West.
DAWANG is committed to celebrating a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese aesthetics.
Later joined by her best friend Abby Li in 2022, with their similar background growing up, having absorbed aesthetics from both American and Chinese cultures, they meticulously joins traditional chinoiserie apparel and Chinese fabrics with Western tailoring techniques and trends.

In addition to fostering a creative space for Chinese and Chinese Americans, Daisy and Abby's aim is to invite people of all backgrounds to partake in the beauty of #ModernChinoiserie. The intention to create a melting pot of culture surrounding modern Chinese streetwear is more than apparent in their diverse casting choices across runway and e-commerce models.

I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did -- this one is really special and personal.

Today’s guest speaker is the zenith of corporate baddie on TOP turned fashion tech startup founder. A former Blackstone employee, our esteemed guest speaker today left the trillion-dollar asset manager to start Pickle, a peer-to-peer clothing rental app, that allows users to rent out their closet to people who live nearby and favorite of enterprising fashion girlies nationwide. Though born in New York City in 2021, Pickle has more than half of its new users come from other parts of the country.

In the sea of startups vying for the all elusive venture capital funding — she and her cofounder Brian McMahon has raised $8 million in funding from FirstMark, Craft Ventures and others in 2023, giving it a $30 million valuation. An all the more incredible feat given that only 2% of venture dollars goes to women founders.

Fashion nerds I hope you enjoy this episode with the inspiring, Forbes 30 under 30, Julia O’Mara. We get INTO it from her most worn pieces, Pickle's incredibly cost-effective marketing strategy, and the creative features which this startup has developed to help fashion lovers across the US try beautiful clothes in an environmentally and fiscally sustainable way.

Have you given Pickle a try? If not, would you? As a renter or as an owner? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Threads of Tech IG

Download Pickle and get $20 off your first rental