Nancy Tran
Featured Designer
THE INSPIRATION
Freedom. Reaching out to your dreams. Adventures in faraway destinations. These are the notions associated with spreading your wings and taking to the air. Long before I started on this quest to design a fashion line, it has always been my wish to create something with which to inspire women with their own sense of discovery. To illustrate this idea into design, I kept coming back to one member of the avian family: the red-crowned crane. Of the many gloriously colorful birds that populated my birthplace of Vietnam, it was this proud, beautiful creature that captivated me the most.
If you watched a red-crowned crane long enough, you will bear witness to the mesmerizing grace of its movements – the way it bows, poses, bobs and pirouettes are nothing less than musical. Its habit of leaping excitedly into the air is like the crescendo at the end of a symphony. Their displays of affection during their courtship ritual can be fascinating and moving at the same time. On a snow-covered field, the red-crowned cranes will face one another, raise their heads toward the sky, and call out in unison. While singing in this way, they commence on an elaborate dance that crests with a leap into the air, raising and spreading their wings, and take flight. The pair will go on to repeat this performance many times over a period of years. The mating ritual creates a lifelong bond that is nothing less than poetic.
When I decided that I wanted to focus on the idea of soaring out to the wide open air, to the endless possibilities of the unknown, I knew I had to use the red-crowned crane as the symbol of such a glorious journey. And the very idea of setting out on an adventure inevitably takes me back to cities that I once visited that inspired the names of the garments in the collection. This collection is as much about art and beauty as it is about long-lasting love, soaring to new heights, and finding yourself in a wonderful new place in your life.
INSIDE THE COLLECTION
For her Fall/Winter 2018 Ready-to-Wear collection, Nancy Tran designed, digitally printed, and embroidered original prints onto luxurious fabrics. Inspired by the beauty and symbolism of the red-crowned cranes, embroidery either directly on or applied on the garment of these majestic creatures can be seen on many of the garments as well as their slender bodies shaping the silhouette of the garments themselves.
Skilled silk painters created original artwork beautifully displayed on magnificent silk. This highly detailed craftsmanship was then printed onto silk wool using advanced digital technology in New York City. An artistic spirit of freedom and adventure is summoned by these visually stunning prints.
A number of specialized embroidery techniques were masterfully created by hand and machine and applied by hand to the rich fabrics. These meticulous efforts thoroughly capture the essence of the Nancy Tran collection.
The wearer is delighted to experience appealing shapes and rich textures. In addition to conveying her high standards of construction and fit, Nancy Tran has created a collection that is truly beautiful and timeless.
NANCY TRAN
By the alluring verve and impeccable quality of her seminal collection, it might seem that NANCY TRAN has always been a professional fashion designer. But the truth about this exciting new talent is that until just a few years ago she was a lawyer who had been nurturing dreams of designing for as long as she can remember.
Born in Saigon and raised in the United States, Nancy possesses a well-honed understanding of both the modern glamour of Western tastes as well as the serene elegance of Eastern sensibilities. Her interest in fashion, photography, music, and the arts burgeoned at a young age; but she was prompted by her father to pursue a more conventional path toward a secure future. Consequently, she went on to earn a juris doctorate degree and an MBA, embarked on a successful legal career, and climbed up the ladder at various prestigious law firms and an investment bank in New York.
Through it all she never gave up on her true calling. Driven by an inherent creativity, she enrolled in a fashion design associate program at the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology to learn the fundamentals of the métier and fortify her decision to launch an eponymous line. Her business and legal experience proved valuable in putting the business infrastructure in place. Over a year was spent laying down the foundation of the brand - from creating the concept and design to finding highly skilled artisans who could faithfully execute the intricate embroidery, and then crafting the prototypes for production.
Nancy conceived this first collection with deliberate intentions. Setting the essential tone for the brand, this collection offers a fresh interpretation of luxurious fashion relevant to modern women’s lives and serves as an inspiration for women to discover their own beauty, strength, and limitless potential. Equally important, the collection is a testament to Nancy’s personal journey of following her dreams, harnessing the full extent of her creativity and experience, and sharing this joyful expression of sophisticated style with women everywhere. Nancy Tran resides in New York City with her husband and son.