Today we’d like to introduce you to Viola Wan.
Hi Viola, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From migrating from China to LA by myself when I was 16 years old to fully commit to train, pursue dancing in the LA entertainment industry, to become a wardrobe stylist and designer having my own business/brand THE WAN definitely has not been an easy ride. “China raised me, LA made me” is how I would describe my background.
Dance changed my life, it taught me what hard work looks like at a very young age I started when I was four years old in Chinese national dance and was always traveling, rehearsing, and performing internationally and nationally. After moving to LA by myself at 16 years old without knowing anyone, I started to really pursue and train as a professional dancer in LA’s entertainment industry in all different styles including Hip-hop, Jazz Funk, Dancehall, Afro, Popping, and Heels. And that’s where I started my whole fashion career. I still clearly remember the day I was sitting, listening, and thinking at the dance studio for my Wednesday dance training at KreativMindz Dance Academy (back then) hosted by one of my mentors- Antoine Troupe. We were talking about different career paths in dance, production, photography, videography, etc. It really sparked my thoughts about something I loved my whole life- Fashion. I brought this up to my mentor Antoine Troupe, he told me to make a list of people, brands, and the company I want to do an internship with, start to design one drawing a week, and send it to him.
Shortly after in 2019, I worked two times at LA Fashion Week powered by Art Heart Fashion and started an internship with Candice Cuoco which forever changed my life and strongly confirmed my decision about being a Fashion Designer, She did not only teach me all the basics about design, construct a garment but also showed me how you can build everything from scratch as a woman (#WomenRunThisHouse) by herself. I might say this 1000 times already, I am forever grateful for her, today seeing her continually leveling up, designing custom clothes for Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, Kali Uchis, Demi Lovato and More, I get inspired all the time.
Fast forward 4 years later, after doing so many other gigs, producing visuals, working for showrooms, artists, personal clients… I graduated from FIDM with a Degree in Fashion Design and have been working as a freelance wardrobe stylist and designer doing custom one-off pieces, personal shopping, and assistant designer work for different brands including Frederick of Hollywood and Solely Fit. Styling work for music videos includes Coco Jones’s “Double Back”, Kylie Cantrall’s “Switch Phones”; Lisette Munro’s “PA TI” and more.
In March 2023, I launched my very first one-off collection under my brand “THE WAN”. The highly anticipated “BE FR” collection is inspired by my grandmother, a Chinese Entrepreneur whom I watched build one of the biggest hotels in my hometown on her own at the age of 55. The “BE FR” collection is a majority one-off collection, I like to refer to as the “WAN of ONE” style. Eclectic designs constructed from upcycled clothes that I intentionally handpicked, and one special ready-to-wear piece, “Pretty Fr Bustier.”
Currently, I am head stylist for women’s shoe company Cape Robbin, head of wardrobe and design for a production company THE LOBBY; the head of design for Annes Apparel based in DTLA; and also continue building my own brand THE WAN and have been working on a few very exciting big projects coming soon! Can’t wait to share with the world!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anything in life if you want to be on top of it would not be a smooth road in my opinion, and it absolutely will not be easy. Use one word to describe the struggle I face in life along this journey til today would be “Balance”. From balancing dance and fashion, styling and designing, working all the time, and taking time to rest… Continuously finding the “balance” in life is definitely one of my biggest struggles. However, after years of trying to find my “balance”, I truly realized that there’s no such thing called “balance” in life.
When I just started to want to take fashion seriously, it was me trying to balance dance, fashion, and full-time school. People would ask me dance and fashion which one do you want to choose? and then the question would be, “Do you want to be a stylist or designer?” I often asked myself these questions but never had an answer because I truly love everything I do, want to do it all, and I will.
There is really no rule in this world that tells you you have to only do one thing in life besides what our society tells you to do so growing up at least for me. One thing I really learned is in different phases of our life, our priorities would be different. For example, at this specific moment of my life, I want to really build my brand/company THE WAN in fashion rather than becoming a professional dancer and being on tour and all that. With only 24 hours in a day and only one me in this world, I definitely can not dance as much as I used to and really dedicated my time and energy to fashion.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a fashion designer and wardrobe stylist with a dancing background. “Simply but in the most extreme ways” would be a great sentence to describe my own styles when comes to my design and styles. Bold patterns, colors, and textures come from my unique understanding and ability to create beauty from scratch from everything I have been through and seen in my life so far.
Born in a female-dominant family, I was really inspired by all the females in her family, including her two grandmothers and her mum. They really showed her how women can do everything men do and more at a very young age. My latest one-off collection “BE FR” launched under my brand “THE WAN” is inspired by my grandmother, a Chinese Entrepreneur, whom she watched build one of the biggest hotels in their hometown on her own at the age of 55. This collection’s eclectic designs are constructed from upcycled clothes that she intentionally handpicked and one special ready-to-wear piece, “Pretty Fr Bustier.” My mission is to empower women and inspire the quickly growing fashion industry through sustainable fashion and utmost individuality my one-off pieces tell that story -the styles are not only zero waste and made to order, but also patterned and sewed by me.
I think what I am most proud of is the way I work. If you ever worked with me, you would know I always go 100% and beyond for anything I do when it comes to my work. What really set me apart from others I believe is who I am as a person. I believe in energy, I believe in good and bad karma, and I believe what you put out is what you are going to get back. There are endless people in this world who are very very talented, but at the end of the day, I deeply believe people want to work with someone not only because of their ability to finish the job but also is really about WHO THEY ARE as a person. I remind myself that daily, I hold myself accountable for whatever I do in life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Within the next five years, the first thing first for sure is to debut my first 10-12 looks full collection in 2024 and show my collection in some major fashion weeks in NY, Paris, London, and Milan; I see myself doing custom pieces and wardrobe styling for some biggest music artists in the industry from the music video to red carpets everything; “THE WAN” my brand really making noise and known in the industry as well.
Within ten years, after I really “broke my wall” in the fashion/ entertainment industry, I want to really use my money and my platform to start a nonprofit organization to provide first/ second-generation immigrants who are in the art, fashion, entertainment industry trying to “make it” legal services, the fund they need for their businesses.
Additionally, I see myself owning “THE WAN” salon that provides my customers the most unique experience when it comes to hair, nail, spa, makeup, messages, etc. with special designs from THE WAN you can only get from my physical stores. Last but not least, I see myself be a mentor to whoever needs a bit of help starting off their career in fashion. In today’s industry, there’s still a very lack of representatives as Asian females. I do not see any Asian female really up there looking like me doing everything I want to do. Therefore, once I really figure out myself and put my puzzles together, I want to go help anyone look like me to achieve anything they want as well because nothing is impossible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thewanandonly.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamviolawan/
