Shao New York’s Designer Casts AAPI Models Exclusively for Runway Show
For Shao New York’s Monday night show, founder and designer Shao Yang cast solely AAPI models at the House of the Red Pearl restaurant.
The Taiwanese talent moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of 5 and grew up in Brooklyn. Having run her own business in New York City for 10 years, Yang said her grandparents are Chinese and she has always been very drawn to Chinese history, especially in relation to Shanghai, which is one of her favorite cities. “A lot of the things that I do surrounding my heritage always ties back to Taiwan and China, even though there is a divide,” she said.
More from WWD
In fact, Yang was so energized by Monday’s show that by Tuesday morning she was already scouting a location in Chinatown restaurants for Shao New York’s September show. Representation has always been very important to her and staging a runway show exclusively with AAPI models had been an intention for a while, she said. The combination of the show’s title “1930s Shanghai: Paris of the East, New York of the West” and its Chinatown setting made the timing right, according to Yang, who said she became “really emotional,” during her finale walk. “It was very close to my heart and part of my heritage. It was something that I’ve wanted to do for so long,” she said.
Casting director Michael Eland helped to find all of the professional models who showcased 23 looks on the coed runway. “Backstage, it was like a little community. Everybody was super excited to tell that story,” Yang said. (Anna Sorokin, who many know as a former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant or as the “fake heiress” Anna Delvey, did not model this season.)
Well aware of the geopolitical issues and criticism related to China, the designer said, “Being an Asian woman business owner, this is something that I’ve always dealt with. It’s just a little bit louder now. But it’s very important for me to always tell the story that there is a rich heritage in China and to be proud to be Chinese, to be able to do business as a Chinese entrepreneur, and not let any of the noise get in the way.”
Sometimes when dealing with clients or retail-related issues, there is a xenophobia or discrimination that can happen,” Yang said. “That is the world that we live in, and I have personally experienced that.”
As a New York brand and shop owner that uses some local manufacturing, the designer employs artisans in New York, China and Italy. While some people want to talk about her work with artisans in China as a negative point, she said she is proud of that association and praised their craftsmanship as “amazing.” Yang also noted that most of the people that she works with in New York City are Chinese and she speaks with them in Chinese.
As noted by the Pew Research Center, post-COVID-19 reports of discrimination and violence against Asian Americans increased. In 2022,English-speaking Asian adults said they were more likely to change their daily routines — more than any other racial or ethnic group — due to concerns of being threatened or attacked. Yang suggested that that brought the AAPI community closer together and “we’re all working really hard together as a group to dispel that behavior and those thoughts.”
With the Trump administration’s tariffs still being imposed, the designer said she is trying not to think about how that could impact business. “Fashion and business are always evolving. Challenges are part of being in business and being a brand. So I take every challenge as it comes and I will deal with it,” she said. “But I don’t want anything to affect my creative thoughts and how I run the business.”
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
