Kristen Luong
Kristen Luong was born in Vietnam and grew up in Brooklyn. She spent the majority of her childhood singing, drawing and dreaming about becoming a doctor. To that end, she studied Biology and conducted genetics research as a Pre-Med student at New York University for her undergrad but was drawn to art and fashion at the same time. She applied to both Fashion Design at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Medical School, eventually deciding to pursue her passion for fashion, specifically how to make shirts, pants and other tailored clothing. She later discovered that the Fashion Design program doesn't delve into those topics and that she would have to switch to the Menswear Design program at FIT instead. So, with one semester to go and a ball room gown to make, she switched to Menswear Design because her aesthetic demanded it. She felt "at home" immediately as part of the Menswear Design program. She was FINALLY learning how to make plackets, shirts, pants, jackets, coats, suits, and other tailoring techniques that she had been yearning for. Her final collection for her Menswear Design program earned her 2nd place along with having her entire final collection displayed at the Museum at FIT. Along the way, she interned for Zac Posen and was lucky enough to work on pieces shown as part of Paris Fashion Week for the Fall 2011 season. She also worked as a freelance patternmaker for Derek Lam where she learned more about fit and patternmaking for production.
In the summer of 2012, Kristen was presented an opportunity to work with sustainable fabrics for a conference being held at FIT. Discovering how amazing these sustainable fabrics are was a turning point. Prior to this, Kristen didn't realize sustainable fabrics had come so far and could be so luxurious. Things started crystalizing. The KROMAGNON brand concept came about on a trip to France/Italy to visit factories with other FIT students. Her research began with learning more about sustainable fabrics and practices. Kristen approached this research the same as she did while studying Pre-Med at NYU. As a scientist looking to truly understand what is happening below the surface. She spent countless hours understanding the pros and cons of the various different types of sustainable fabrics available, learning that while some fabrics might come from sustainable resources, they require large amounts of chemical processing to convert into fabric. The more she learned, the deeper she delved. Eventually, she came out the other end with a comprehensive understanding of the different materials available and why they're sustainable. Armed with this knowledge, she found suppliers that had the right fabrics that also followed the like-minded business practices she believed in. She also found partners for manufacturing and trims that would help her create a topnotch product. The end result of all of Kristen's effort is what you see from KROMAGNON; and yet, this is just the beginning...
Lessons
Fashion Lectures