KOU Yanga

KOUICHIRO YANGA IS A FASHION DESIGNER WHO GREW UP IN JAPAN AND IS CURRENTLY BASED IN UNITED STATES.HIS THESIS COLLECTION IS BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCE AS A JAPANESE-FILIPINO, GROWING UP IN JAPAN. IT IS AN EXPLORATION OF HOW DANCE BECAME A VEHICLE THROUGH WHICH HE COULD ESCAPE THE PRESSURES OF GROWING UP IN A CONSERVATIVE SOCIETY WHERE TO GROW UP MIXED-RACE WAS UNCOMMON AND WAS LOOKED UPON AS A POINT OF DIFFERENCE THAT MADE IT HARD TO FIT IN.

HE STUDIED MEN’S TAILORING IN PARIS, FRANCE, AND INTERNED AT MAISONS　SUCH AS　PIGALLE AND MOON YOUNG HEE. THEN HE MOVES TO VIENNA AUSTRIA　TO LEARN FASHION DESIGN FROM HUSSEIN CHALAYAN. IN 2018, HE MOVE TO THE UNITED STATES TO STUDY FASHION DESIGN AT PARSONS MFA FASHION DESIGN AND SOCIETY WITH THE AWARD OF UNIQLO-TOMODACHI SCHOLARSHIP.