VISIONS FROM THE EAST

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According to Timothy Gunn, chair of fashion design at Parsons, a lot of Asians are coming to the U.S. to pursue fashion careers because there are so few fashion schools in countries like South Korea and Japan. In the Parsons fashion department alone, 40% of the students are Asian--mostly from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and now also China. "Within the next couple of seasons we'll be seeing even more Asian designers coming onto the scene," says Gunn. "This is a global time for fashion, and such cultural diversity adds a real design diversity. They have a very specific take on form and function and a unique sense of color."

There is also a cultural duality to the design aesthetic of the young Asian designers. Derek Lam, 38, who was born in the U.S. but has lived in Hong Kong, sees the influence of Asian propriety and restraint in his clothes. And even though he has worked for American sportswear giants like Michael Kors, he still refers to what he calls an Asian sense of rusticity, evident in the handiwork on a muslin cardigan or the Chinese floral block print on a shirt. In the spring collection he showed last week--his fourth--Lam brought out pastel chiffon tea dresses inspired by the 1930s. But while the silhouette was refined and sensual, many of the fabrics were handloomed linens and denims.

"Dressing well is something intrinsically important to Asians," he says. "I remember for my grandfather's 80th birthday, my mother sent me out to buy something nice to wear, and I came back with a pair of Matsuda shorts and a Yohji Yamamoto jacket, and she told me to get a suit instead. 'It's not about you,' she would say. She always said dressing well is about being polite in society. It's about respecting others."

That idea of society and politesse distinguishes the attitude of this generation of Asian designers. Whereas Japanese designers like Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto, who emerged on the Paris fashion scene in the early 1980s, were about pushing the boundaries of fashion and making radical statements on the runway--all black palettes, jackets with three sleeves--this new group looks generally to more classical and conservative muses. Panichgul is inspired by Cecil Beaton photographs. Chow--who showed bed jackets made of sequins stamped out of Coca-Cola cans and embroidered brocade coats inspired by Masai patterns--looks to such women as cosmetics mogul Helena Rubinstein. And Som, who showed gold velvet pedal pushers with delicately beaded chiffon blouses, is enamored of eccentric society women like Edith Sitwell.

"I like the duality of things--something Western with something Asian or African," says Chow, 36, who was born in Hong Kong and has worked for design houses like Perry Ellis and Pucci for more than 10 years. "That's very Hong Kong, where you have East and West co-existing. And you also have a very proper approach to fashion." So far, it's a look that seems to be catching on--at least for spring 2005.