Ear Sok Chuang
Fashion Designer/ Founder of YANG Clothing, 2018
“Read more, be curious, practice and always do your best.”
16 August 2018
Limkokwing Fashion Design and Business Innovation alumna Ear Sok Chuang is a force to be reckoned with in the Cambodian fashion scene.
At only 29 years old she is not only the founder of digital textile brand YANG Clothing, but also a fashion photographer and a judge for the upcoming season of ‘Designers Cambodia’ reality show.
Born and raised in Cambodia, Sok Chuang said she realized her passion in Year Four when she was doing her final Origami collection graduation project.
Sok Chuang is also the fashion photographer for her YANG clothing brand, so she conducts photo shoots for new collections.
“Most of my work is in graphic design for new fabric prints and T-shirt prints, fashion designing, pattern making. I also meet suppliers and train the new sales staff.”
Sharing with us her day-to-day tasks she said, “Every morning I go to my shop downtown to check the window display and the interior preparation, then I will follow up with my work in my Wunder List, which I usually manage the night before on work that needs to be done by myself as well as by my team.”
A great experience
Reflecting on her journey studying at Limkokwing University, she acknowledged that she had great accomplishments which helped her kick start a career of her dreams.
Her first summer corporate collection in conjunction with Keo K’jay was in Semester 2 and it was showcased during Cambodia Fashion week in 2010.
In Semester 4, she designed her first t-shirt “KhmerTee” and sold 300 hundred units in just two weeks.
“Being a student ambassador was also a great experience because I got to help other students while learning a lot of skills.”
For her role as a student ambassador Sok Chuang received the University Colors of Ambassadorship award.
“To date, I’m using the creativity skills I’ve learned from Limkokwing to establish comfy Cambodian outfit designs with digital textile, not only for local buyers but also for tourist to buy as souvenirs to spread the beauty and culture of Cambodia to the world.”
Challenges
Sok Chuang admits that working as a fashion designer comes with its challenges as she used to struggle with the business side of things – from pricing, over producing designs that had less demand, to struggling with stock during high demand periods.
However, she said she learned to overcome the problem by reproducing the best-selling items and pushing those under demand on giant sales.
Currently Sok Chuang is working on her Fashion Week Collection and preparing for five upcoming exhibitions from July all through November 2018.
In the next five to 10 years, she envisions opening two more shops and selling her line in at least 30% of all Phnom Penh and Siem Reap’s five star hotels.
In about five years she also plans to have her line sold in duty free stores at the Siem Reap airport which will speed up her goal of achieving financial freedom in 10 years.
Judging from her experience, Sok Chuang says in order to be successful, one has to be patient while working hard and smart, choosing quality over quantity and having a strong network and great communication skills amongst other things.
The talented Limkokwing alumna’s advice for students was simple.
“Read more, be curious, practice and always do your best.”
