Yeohlee Teng s cool, calm, and consistent efficiency deserves to be commended—even if she prefers to fly under the radar. Season after season, the designer creates carefully considered, functional clothes that leave as small of a carbon footprint behind as possible. At a Resort preview in her Garment District studio/store, Teng explained, "The spirit of the new collection has to do with the simplicity and modernist architecture of Fire Island Pines." Simple was indeed a way to describe a water-repellent white coat with clinical appeal, a pair of crisp cotton judo-inspired pants, and cute trapeze-shaped sundresses that were so lightweight, they prompted the model to jump around and say, "I don t even feel it."
But looking that easy takes more work than you d imagine, and Teng meticulously places each seam to create zero waste and engineers the prints to use as little fabric as possible. She showed a geometric, painterly pattern on natty jackets and pencil skirts, and incorporated a digital image of a Japanese waterfall on a silk-paneled popover frock. Teng s thoughtful clothes here should resonate with her thoughtful customer.
