The Avant Garde Issue

on the cutting edge
Ken Chen is a Taipei, Taiwan native. He describes Taipei, Taiwan as an
island in the center of Asia that has amazing cultural diversity. Ken
Chen shares his connection with his hometown saying, “Growing up
I was very excited and inspired by the cutting edge technology that
has been incorporated into the city but there is also untouched, almost
fantasy-like, natural sights. It’s very condensed so there’s a huge
focus on efficiency that I think I really absorbed into my lifestyle.“
By Bria Anderson
Ken Chen shares his connection with
his hometown saying, “Growing up
I was very excited and inspired by
the cutting edge technology that has been
incorporated into the city but there is also
untouched, almost fantasy-like, natural sights.
It’s very condensed so there’s a huge focus on
efficiency that I think I really absorbed into
my lifestyle.“When Ken Chen was growing up,
his grandmother introduced fashion to him.
He shared, “She was always very stylish and
saw that I also had a sense of style even as a
young boy. She taught me the importance
of simplicity and quality as well. Then I was
wearing Saint Laurent but the luxury was
not impressed upon me as much as the
craftsmanship and details.”
He also shared that the main force behind his
brand KENCHEN is impatience. As far as the
development of the brand he said, “I knew
how I wanted to present it and I felt very
strongly about the standards and aesthetics
of a small luxury brand so I just started very
simply. Step by step as I learned more about
the fashion business it grew. In a lot of ways
owning a company helped prepare me for
school projects rather than the other way
around.” Ken Chen is inspired by the general
40 | Avant Garde Issue 2015 | Fashion Xchange Magazine
inspiration that comes to him in every event,
no matter how small. As far as inspiration,
he also expresses that it is a matter of paying
attention to the details and those fine
elements that make things work together
so well. When creating the collections at
KENCHEN, seeing the initial concept come to
life is his most rewarding part of the process.
He shared his enjoyment saying, “When I sit
back and see the piece as a garment and not
all the effort that went into it. After all, that
is why I feel the need to design: to take these
things I image out of my head and find a
way to put them together. As you get more
efficient at the process you start to wonder
what else you can take out of your head.”
Ken Chen loves functionality and making
beautiful things simple. He feels that,
“Sometimes you need to take extra steps to
simplify the final product but the end result
is the moment when you can take a breath
and see it not as “yours” but just as something
that exists.” His favorite piece from his recent
collection is the Euclid coat. When receiving
his first sale, Ken Chen described the moment
as a feeling of validation! Ken Chen would
love to have his pieces sold at Neiman Marcus
due to his consistently great experiences
[continued on pg. 43]