In 1997, Yeohlee Teng debuted her “Urban Nomad” collection. Now, she has opened a store in the NoMad neighborhood. “I felt like I was going home,” she said of the location. And what a home she has created!
Yeohlee arrived from Malaysia over thirty years ago and is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design. Today, she is a renowned fashionista, having had her work exhibited in shows at the MOMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum at FIT. Her designs can also be found in the Costume Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they are permanently ensconced.
In 2010, she opened a store on 38th Street as part of the Made in Midtown project, aimed at reinventing and strengthening the garment district. Yeohlee continues to have her clothing made locally, just one part of her quest for sustainability. “The store has always had a point of view,” she explained, "focusing on reducing waste and maximizing use of materials." This approach may sound familiar, as it is echoed by many across the food world, but struck us as unique in the fashion scene. To hear Yeohlee explain it, though, is to believe that, inevitably, others will follow suit.
Yeohlee tailors her clothes to “the intelligent woman.” Most who buy her clothes understand what they are buying, and how it fits them in every sense of the word. People often think only about how clothes look, forgetting “the interstitial spacing created by the interplay of the clothes and the body.” Yeohlee believes that the way that our clothes fit, in turn, affects how we behave and present ourselves, therefore allowing men and women to gain self-confidence by wearing such perspicaciously designed clothes.
Every item in her boutique is simple, elegant, and ever true to the strong principles of design that Yeohlee wields like her very own wand. Most garments are for women: shawls, sweaters, coats, and something called a jerkin - a chic coat-vest of sorts. One of our favorite items was the zero-waste mobius scarf, a must for stylish mathematicians, but the highlight was getting to spend time with Yeohlee Teng, and to have her share her story and her passion for clothing with us. Stay tuned for the men’s collection that will be launching shortly.
