May 18, 2015 8 Questions With: Amanda Hsiao
For this 8 Questions I thought I’d get my wife, Amanda Hsiao to participate. She’s a fashion designer by trade but originally received her degree in merchandising. Her journey to become a designer is one of the stories I enjoy and it basically goes as follows: Amanda picked up knitting as a hobby to get out of the house after 9-11. Her boss at the time noticed her knitting and offered her a job designing sweaters, and she’s been designing ever since. Now take a moment and get to know Amanda a little more in our 8 Questions.
How would you describe your work?
I am part of an amazing team of designers that make up the product for the Infant and Newborn collections at babyGap. Specifically, I design all the sweaters for baby boys, baby girls and newborns. In this age group most of baby dressing involves a sweater of some sort. A top, pants, blankets, hats…
What is the best part of your job?
Besides private medical insurance, stock options and a 401k? Working with an inspiring team of women.
If you could collaborate with anyone what would you do and why?
It would have to be with Jeep – one of my most prized possessions was my 1997 Jeep Wrangler. It is the most authentic, useful and fashionable items I have ever owned. Its an american classic – just like the Gap is and I would love to see a Gap x Jeep collabo.
Where do you find inspiration?
For me, inspiration comes from everywhere! But the most important inspiration comes from my kids. I get so much inspiration out of watching how they interact with clothing. So many ideas on the functionality of garments is seeing it in use. How the neck opens wide enough to get over their heads or how the snap crotch makes a diaper change easier. I see how they react to certain colors and patterns and how easy it is to put an outfit together. I take that functionality and mix it with the latest in womenswear, menswear and culture. The idea is functionality for a baby but something that is covetable and worth ‘heirloom’ status to be passed on.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I get to the office after dropping my oldest daughter to school around 9:30am, after some coffee and recapping any popular culture events with my coworkers (i.e., award shows, bravo shows, best dressed worst dressed…) I usually jump into designing. I typically work on three seasons at once. Currently I am in the design process of Spring 2016 working out the details – silhouette, stitch details, and colors of the sweaters. I am fitting Holiday 2015 garments and making sure they have the design intent that was originally determined when our team assorted the line a couple months back. I am also final approving the samples for Fall 2015 that will show up in the stores in August. I try to finish one season before moving on to the next each day. I end the day going through emails and tying up any open issues. Sweaters are each so detailed for each season so organization is key.
What are you reading or listening to at the moment?
Everything Casey Neistat makes. His snap stories. His vlogs. His videos.
I just read Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies, which I found profoundly important. There isn’t a single person that hasn’t felt the affects of cancer. Learning about the history of the disease and how close we are to a major breakthrough was very inspiring. Having dealt with cancer first hand when my daughter had leukemia put it all into perspective and this book/documentary was really empowering to see what we had actually gone thru. It’s an important story to tell.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
Part Veterinarian, Part fashion designer. I didn’t think I could handle being a doctor so designer won.
If you could give some advise to your teenage self, what would it be?
“Work Harder” – Casey Neistat.