OUR STORY
SHAO is built from tailoring, memory, and contradiction.
Founded by designer Shao Yang, the brand begins with the discipline of tailoring and expands into a world shaped by cinema, subculture, nightlife, and New York. At its core, SHAO is about construction with attitude: garments that carry precision, tension, and presence.
IN THE DESIGNER’S WORDS
WHY TAILORING
Tailoring has always been stitched into my story. Growing up, my grandfather was my first reference point for what it meant to be impeccably dressed. As a high school principal, he showed up every day in pieces that were perfectly tailored, quiet but powerful in their precision. I admired the way he carried himself in those garments.
Some of my earliest memories are of the tailor coming to our home, carefully measuring him, draping fabrics, and transforming cloth into something exact. I was drawn to the ritual of it. The textures, the weight of the fabrics, the sense that each piece was made with intention. I would sit nearby, running my hands over the materials, completely absorbed.
Every year for Chinese New Year, that ritual expanded to the entire family. My grandfather would have the tailor create custom suits and dresses for all of us. It became something I looked forward to more than anything. I still remember my favorite piece, a navy pleated dress with wide sailor-style collars, made just for me. It felt personal, considered, and entirely my own.
IN THE DESIGNER’S WORDS
WHY TAILORING
That curiosity turned into play. I would take his custom pocket squares and use them to dress my Barbie dolls, creating my own versions of tailored looks before I even understood what tailoring meant.
Those moments stayed with me. What began as fascination became direction. I went on to study fashion, but instead of following the traditional path of interning under design houses, I chose to apprentice under tailors. I wanted to understand how garments are truly constructed to last, how precision in fit can transform a silhouette, and how to tailor for a wide range of bodies. That experience grounded me in the discipline, structure, and technical rigor that defines the craft.
Eventually, I found myself fully immersed in the world of tailoring. It was not a space traditionally shaped for women, but that only sharpened my perspective. It pushed me to learn more, refine more, and question more.
SHAO was born from that foundation. A lifelong connection to tailoring, shaped by memory, refined through experience, and redefined through my own point of view.
"Identity isn't about picking a side—it's about building bridges that hold."