Susan Woo:

- Susan, why have you decided to become a designer?

— The idea occurred to me when I was a little girl. When I was about ten, my Mom used to apply Asian traditions to my upbringing. Every morning she would use a special notebook to write down a list of tasks for me to accomplish during the day. Every other evening there was nothing more than my drawings in the book. Those were the sketches of clothes I dreamt to wear.

Once my Mom realized all those attempts to “decently” bring me up were successful if awry, my parents wished that I would become an artist. I behaved a kind mischiviously by stating that I was meant to create clothes. Later I entered Cornell University design school. Alongside with modelling I studied art history there, I also took some business-planning classes there.

After I had accomplished my studies I underwent a training in Paris in Louis Vuitton Fashion house, and then worked for Chanel in New York. I must confess these were the most brilliant days in my life! Channel is the biggest brand in the world, millions of people being inspired by it. Once you are with Channel you always go for the best.

— So, why didn’t you stay in the company, having got involved your own brand instead?

— On my return to New York I needed some time to figure out whether it was really fashion I was prepared to devote the whole of my life to. I got a job at a New-Yourk designer Derek Lam’s and realized that I’d made the right choice, it was there I understood I was destined for fashion.

— Is it hard for you, a young designer, to work your way forward in this business?

— It really is, the competition is too severe in the sphere. You are to go up with absolutely innovative concepts today. Nowadays people are reluctant to spend some hundreds of dollars on a T-shirt merely due to the fact that it was created by some stylish designer. They pay either for ideas, or for quality, or for happy blend of both.

I believe I was right about choosing the niche when I embarked on creating ecologically friendly stylish wear. Nowadays one can find piles of “organic” labeled clothes in the market, they mostly offering one-size-fits-all T-shirts and jeans. I for one create both stylish and comfortable clothes you can enjoy both at office and party time. I hold this is a highly promissing direction.