Meet Yuanyuan Liang | Costume Designer for Stage, Film and Commercial

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yuanyuan Liang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yuanyuan, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Willingness. They say: when there’s a will there’s a way. Especially as a designer, I believe only your willingness can stimulate your creative mind and conquer the difficulty without the pressure. When you are willing to break your comfort zone you will step into a bigger world with more opportunities. When you are willing to ask for help and admit there are things you don’t know and someone is good at it, you will be surprised how much you can learn from others. When you are willing to get up after a hard fall, once you continue your journey you will learn things are not as difficult as you thought and you might quickly find a better solution. Everything takes practice, as long as you are willing to give it a shot, someday you will be good at it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My love for design is my drive to my career. Over the years, I was able to work on various types of projects. From there I learned what really matters to my heart and my design. I learned I only wanna be a designer who wons clients’ trust and put my professional training with my whole heart into practice. I never want to be anyone’s assistant. This put me into an extremely difficult position at the beginning of my career, also when I first moved to the US. Cause no one wants to hire you when you don’t have much local working credit. Luckily, I met many directors that respect my work. I slowly built up my network and started working with unparalleled artists and productions. I am learning each day with whoever I work with. I realized being kind, being humble, and keeping learning is the best way to grow. Additionally, for design you really need to have passion for whatever you are working on. Your passion is your key to drive you to the research, sketches, and eventually bring the design in your mind from three-dimensional drawing to real garments. I am very grateful for all the experience. It made me who I am today. I am looking forward to seeing wherever my journey is taking me to. I am definitely ready to embrace bigger and crazier challenges. Bring It On!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
IF there’s anything, I would say TIME is what I want to be thankful for the most. Growing up in a wonderful family, I didn’t really figure out the outside world until I graduated from college. I realized it wasn’t easy to find a dream job at all. My skills where I learnt from a prestigious college did not fit into the reality of the Chinese market. My dream to become a creative designer is submerged by clients’ opinions and my boss’s ideas. I quickly learnt I must find a place where it respects my work and allows me to speak for my own voice. Fortunately I started my second job at Shanghai Media Group, the biggest television company in China. Where I had the most wonderful ten plus years. I worked with celebrities and most talented people in the entertainment business. I was comfortable with where I was. Until I realized my life was just repeating itself each day. I felt the urge to expand my skills and seek for the bigger stages. I was truly inspired by Cirque Du Soleil and Broadway shows at the time. I want to bring my design to the world. I want my work to be more international, with different cultures involved. Because art and design are supposed to be universal languages. So I moved to Los Angeles for my grad school. I chose Calarts which was ranked No. 5 best costume design school in the world at the time. From there I learned cultures from all over the world. And I was very fortunate to work with extraordinary international artists on numerous productions with different cultures, world history and received raving successes.

Now I look back, I realize all the troubles, confusion and challenges make sense. Those difficult years forced me to keep pushing forward. I did not have a moment to hesitate. I did not have a choice to run away. But TIME smoothed out everything for me. When all the answers fell into the pocket, I knew it was all worth it. Never give up.

Website: www.yuanyuanliang.com