Tovar: Dressing Out of a Suitcase
Between designing in Los Angeles, sourcing materials in New York and Hong Kong, babysitting production in Hong Kong, and taking two requisite out-oftown holidays per year, Terence Yeung spends a lot of time dressing out of a suitcase. Yeung’s Tovar clothing line was born from his daily wardrobe of hip, practical, low-maintenance clothes that translate easily from city to city.
Transitory existence was a part of Yeung’s life from a young age. He was born in Hong Kong, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 14 years old.
“Basically, I spent half my life here [in Los Angeles] and there [in Hong Kong]. I have an advantage of both [cultures]. I know how people work and produce in China. hellip; I can oversee the whole production process.
Quality-wise, I make sure all the fabrics are made in the right way,” said Yeung, who started his design career at Orthodox. His bilingualism was an asset at Orthodox when it came to communicating and working with the production factories in China.
Tovar’s debut collection for Spring 2012 was inspired by Yeung’s recent vacation to Colorado’s natural rocky, green and mountainous terrain. He fuses the outerwear inspiration with his city life, such as a lightweight, mustard-colored jacket in waterrepellant cotton that has sharp style lines in the flap pockets and shoulders. On a trucker-like, square cotton jacket, the toggle closures were taken from the toggles on firefighters’ coats. Knits and wovens are understated— basics with a twist—and almost everything is machine-washable to save the hassle of a trip to the dry cleaner.
“I’m busy all the time even though I’m a designer. I don’t want to think about what to wear every day when I wake up. I want to create something that’s easy to put on that’s casual and cool,” Yeung said.
Wholesale prices for button-up woven shirts range around $55, knits range from $35 to $41 and jackets are from $60 to $90. For more information, email cody@722figueroa.com.
