We had the good fortune of connecting with Te Jen (darren) Liao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Te Jen (Darren), what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve always loved fashion, but I love fantasies & what I cannot imagine even more. The thoughts behind my designs are to combine the best of my imaginations for ancient fantasies with the best of my unimaginable imagination. Providing customized one of one fashion experience to each and every one of my customers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like many other artists, maybe even most, my art is my soul & my soul is my art. But if we are talking about what sets me aside, I would say everything. Just like every soul, every art is unique to it’s own, it is up to the person the perceive it in whatever way they want it to be. My designs that are made into reality, is from just one tiny straw of all of my ideas I have in mind, I combine the ancient forgotten culture with whatever “modern” or “ahead of time” formats, to create “A New Elegance Not Bound With Time”, or to put it simply, “Timeless Elegance”.

Was it easy?
Just like everything else, it can be the easiest, or the hardest, it always comes down to what you make of it, and for me, I am doing what I love, so even the hardships seems like a beautiful time.

Lessons along the way?
Consistency, Patience & Self belief.

What I want the world to know about me and my brand?
Come see for yourself, come and find your own fantasies in my designs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A stony beach by San Pedro, where me and my first group of friends here in LA went before we all went our own ways, the endless sea view, the breezy wind and the setting sun, always reminds you things come to an end only so that another can rise.

A taco truck along the walk of fame, the smell, the crunch, the unfamiliar familiar, something you would look back on.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In general, along this on going journey that I’m on, there are countless people that I am grateful to. From the people that gave me thumbs up, to people that gave me all their support to lift me up, and from the people who gave me a thumbs down, to the people who tried their all to tear me down. There is gratitude and thankfulness in everything that has happened, is happening and are going to happen to me.

To go into specifics, the reason I am where I am today is the combination of my mother invested in me with my musical ability early on in my life, my violin teacher who took me in like family, my father who later came back into my life and helped in his own way, my military service in Taiwan that was the last straw to shape the mindset that I have today, and last but not least, my own stubbornness with my dreams in life, and all the hardships that pushed me into the mindset that I have today, and finding my way to climb back on the ladder.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/i.darrenliao/?hl=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.darrenliao/?hl=en

Other: IMDB :
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15601076/

Image Credits
Designer : Te Jen (Darren) Liao @i.darrenliao
Photographer : Ashley Rose Ramirez @ashleyroseramirez
Model : Deanna Yi @deanna.yii
BTS photo/videographer: @serenajordann
Photoshoot assistant: @pxri.th
Studio: @daozenstudios

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