Interview with AEON Attire
Well known in the urban scene for their talent in professional breakdancing, these B-boys, Weiming Yuan, Wei Dong Yuan, and Patrick Lum are the creative minds behind the newly yet rapidly growing fashion label, AEON Attire. Making waves on the global fashion map, AEON Attire is already located in 30 boutiques across Canada and the USA. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Wei Dong Yuan to talk about their story and journey in fashion.
How did your interest in fashion and design come about?
From the beginning, I was always interested in fashion. I was interested in the aspect of how you can change a person’s perspective and how they express themselves in a unique way. As professional break-dancers, I think there are a lot of overlap between dancing and fashion, which are both self-expressive.
How did AEON Attire form?
My brother and I met Patrick in the breakdancing scene, and we were in a crew for a couple of years. After doing professional performances, we wanted to take it to the next level, which was creating a company for fashion accessories and products. Through street performances and private events we used our dancing to make money and put our dream into reality. For our first street performance, we took out a boom box, rolled out linoleum flooring and put out a bucket that read “free smiles”. Not having an educational background in fashion we purchased sewing machines and taught ourselves everything we needed to know by watching YouTube videos and asking our friends.
In a few words how would you define the AEON brand?
Fashion, function and timeless. Not only do we want our accessories to be fashionable, but we also want them to be functional to serve a purpose that will make them valuable. Our accessories also have a timeless aspect; the word AEON is a Latin term that actually refers to a lifespan and eternity, which essentially refers to timeless.
Do you have a specific lifestyle and consumer in mind when you design?
In the beginning, the AEON Taper was an inspiration that came out of the dance community. We saw that dancers were aiming for a more slimming fit on their pants when they danced; it wasn’t an in- style to dance with baggy pants. We wanted to solve this problem and we knew that dancers are always looking to express themselves in new and unique ways. In both ways we wanted our product to function, like taper the pant leg to be slimmer, but also to function as a form of expression.
In terms of our others accessories – Beanies, 5-Panel Hats, Circle Scarves, Sunnies, gloves, belts – we do have a clear target market. Our target consumer we envision exists as a hybrid a hybrid between a styling of Club Monaco and Urban Outfitters. Something that isn’t too outrageous and something not pretentious, we design for a fashion that can be relatable to someone. We want our consumers to stand out yet also fit in.
Why does AEON focus on accessories? Will you expand?
Beginning as a small company, we wanted to create items that could be worn by anybody and transcend the boundaries of sizing for the most part. We felt that accessories were something that we could really make an impact in, and eventually dominate that market. While, we do have tank tops, currently we are looking to expand in the accessories market. Accessories are a great way to accessorize, and we feel the details are what make life worth living.
What is next for AEON Attire?
Currently, we have been focusing on our Touchpoint Glove campaign, and we are lucky to have such support. While, we are going to be expanding our Beanies, Circle Scarves and 5-Panel Hats, our main focus after the glove campaign will be watches.
What do you recommend for emerging aspiring designers?
When we started we didn’t know anything, not even the fundamentals of how to turn an idea into reality. We were just brave enough to go out and do it. Rather then waiting, just go out and do it but of course have a team that you can rely on, as Drake says, “it’s hard to do these things alone”.
Check out AEON Attire and follow this creative talent at @AEONAttire
Article written by Raylin Grace aka the Red Curl Owl with Luevo. You can follow Raylin at@raylingm
