We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leng Chin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leng below.

Alright, Leng thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

It started in about 2017 when my dad was first diagnosed with stage 4 nasal cancer, I was still in school and didn’t really know how to react to the news. My dad started chemotherapy and radiation a couple months after the diagnosis – my whole family helped out with taking him to his appointments and making sure he was okay to go about his daily life. At this point in time, I was working 2 part time jobs, 1 was as a hostess in a restaurant and the other 1 was an apprenticeship at an alteration shop. I was juggling 2 jobs, being a full time student, being in a relationship, and helping out my family. I had to stop school for half a year to help out my family. Thankfully the aggressive treatments worked, I was able to finish out my last year and a half of school. My dad was cancer free for 2 years following. Fast forward to May 2021, my dad’s daily life kept getting effected ~he would forget things he would usually remember, it would he really hard for him to get out of bed, and he would barely eat throughout the day. We found out his cancer came back and immediately started chemo in July. I chose to start an internship at this time, moved to New York for 3 months and made sure I was in the loop with what was going on at home. My family once again did whatever it took to make sure my dad was doing what was needed to get done but at the end of the day he needed to make sure that he fought for his life. The chemotherapy was too harsh on his body the second time around, he was in and out of the hospital, and his body wasn’t getting better.
Present day, my dad still has cancer and it has traveled to his brain. His body is too weak for chemotherapy and radiation so he is just living his life day by day. My family is making sure he lives comfortably but we’re all mentally exhausted from working, trying to take care of ourselves, paying bills and then making sure my dad is okay. This experience has inspired me a lot because I’ve grown as an artist. I’m glad that I learned the fundamentals, rules, and techniques just so I could break them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Leng Chin and I am a fashion designer from Georgia. I knew I wanted to be in fashion since I was in high school because dressing up was the only way I felt like I could express myself. I wanted to learn how to create clothes and art into one so I went to SCAD Atlanta to learn the fundamentals of the fashion industry. I graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and feel that my experience at art school molded me and my disciplines to help me get ready for the industry. Since I graduated, I’ve been working in retail, freelance, and making collections for my own brand. I like to design womenswear, menswear, drapes, and concepts. I’m most proud of the works that I’ve done because I feel like I’m honing onto my skills and then experimenting to become a better designer. I try to help anyone who have questions about the fashion industry and my experiences because I think it’s important to be transparent. Transparency is key when wanting to learn about the industry because then you become more knowledgeable about the changes that happen.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to help out other creatives like myself, have difficult conversations, and just put out whatever I want to create.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Not being afraid to put myself out there and then helping out other creatives whether it was advice, ideas, or collaboration. I think we figure out that we all need each other to succeed

Contact Info:

• Website: lengchin.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/thelengchin
• Facebook: Facebook.com/thelengchin
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/lengchin/
• Other: Behance.net/thelengchin

Image Credits
For the last 2 images the photographer is @millsappmedia and the model is @je_suis_pierre