Since the launch of her label at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Grace Ling has made a name for herself in sensual yet highly technical pieces. -- PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GRACE LING, GRACELINGOFFICIAL/INSTAGRAM
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Grace Ling, one of the buzziest Singaporean fashion designers working today, opened her first permanent store on Feb 5 in New York City, where she and her namesake brand are based.
In attendance at the opening party that night were laurelled designers Zac Posen and Andrew Kwon, and supermodel Alex Consani, reported industry publication WWD.
On the menu were bespoke Chinese New Year Hennessy cocktails, premium Marky’s caviar and a three-tired black sesame Lady M cake, the colour of concrete – “so Grace Ling” was the feedback, said the 27-year-old designer on Instagram.
It was catering suitably couture for Ling, who has dressed Ambani bride Radhika Merchant and pop star Katy Perry in custom, sculptural looks.
Since the launch of her label at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Parsons graduate has made a name for herself in sensual yet highly technical pieces.
Her signature 3D-printed metal breastplates and structural gowns staked claim to A-list wardrobes early, worn by stars such as singer-actress Jennifer Lopez since 2022.
Some of these garments will finally be on the shelves of Ling’s own store, when the 185 sq m boutique in the Manhattan West Side opens to the public on Feb 7.
Though the brand’s ready-to-wear line is stocked at major luxury retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstorm, the Hudson Yards boutique is a four-cornered, full-throated Grace Ling experience.
The hanging lamps look like spaceships, the mannequins are stone, not plastic, the seating is a cluster of onyx-black poufs, some flat, others upright, pushed together like space rocks – custom-made, naturally.
Ling told WWD: “In the store, we’re going to be exhibiting artistic craft-based pieces, almost like exhibition style.
“People can come in and see the custom pieces up close for the first time because we don’t really show it to the public. With our garments, there’s a lot of engineering and details that go into the garments that you really don’t experience the full extent of until you’re there in person.”
In 2024, the brand became profitable for the first time, which made taking on a lease less of a financial risk, Ling told Business of Fashion.
“The economic landscape is not great, but what keeps the business afloat is that I’m really on top of it with my budgeting and expenses,” she said.
That same year, she won a US$100,000 (S$135,000) grant under the inaugural AAPI Design and Innovation Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Genesis House, and made the finals for the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund.
She also won the CVFF x Gap Inc award, and was most recently named a finalist for the yet-to-be-decided 2025 Fashion Trust US.
Grace Ling’s flagship store is at 240 West 40th Street, Suite 603, New York, NY 10018. - The Straits Times/ANN
