Mary Ching and her little dog too, Shanghai

Locally-based, but international powerhouse, Alison Mary Ching Yeung took time out from her busy life designing beautiful shoes and co-founding the Shanghai Fashion Map – which you can download here – to talk to us about her creative beginnings, a secret house of shoes, multicultural background, inspiration, building a creative community and designing for the two sides of her Gemini spirt. At Vainlane, we’ve long admired her luxury shoes and have fallen for her quirky sense of humor and the sweet little pug in the Spiderman ensemble, Mr. Dim Sum.

How did you get started in fashion?
Well, I think it was instinctive and from a very young age actually, I’ve always wanted to do fashion and I’ve always had a passion for it. My mother was always teaching me how to sew and knit and smock. From the age of I think about 12, I knew I wanted to be a designer.  I didn’t know that I wanted to be a shoe designer per se, but I definitely knew I wanted to be an artist or a designer. I think that art and design are very much the same.

But I do remember one story which might…makes sense. I remember my grandmother – they lived in a trailer on a farm – and they had this old house that they kind of let grow…literally the plants took over the house, they just let it kind of disintegrate since they moved to another house, but they never locked it down. No, but seriously there were just roots and trees. I mean my grandfather used to use it on the farm for breakfast, but all the rooms were just kind of left and all the beds and boxes and cupboards. And I remember as a child of about ten or twelve and it was this old house that you could go in and play. I would go into the cupboards and pull out all these old shoes of my grandmothers. I remember trying them on and they were all high heels and I remember thinking, “wow this is so cool.” I remember taking them back to New York, which is where we lived at the time and my mother asking me where I got them. So maybe instinctively, I always knew it was going to be shoes.

What are you inspired by this season?
This season I had a bit of fun playing on the slogan: I am not a fake and combining Chinese aesthetics with British humor. You often get these fun slogans from the UK and this season I played on “I’m not a fake” because there is this association that China is just being copies and not being original and unique and then obviously I used our signature materials like feathers and snakeskin.

Who is your favorite shoe designer?
Oh, there is a designer from the end of the sixties, I think it’s Perron or maybe Perrion, but he did really kind of humorous shoes with like lipsticks and lips; it’s a French designer. I think that the futuristic shoe designers – I think that it’s interesting when they combine architecture and shoe design. It’s not necessarily functional, but it’s quite fun to challenge borders. I wouldn’t say that I am conceptual, but I definitely appreciate it.

What makes you more interesting that other designers?
Here in Shanghai? (interviewer nodded yes) Well, I think that it’s probably a combination of being Eurasian (half English, half Chinese) and I’ve been educated abroad and come back to my roots so I have an international sense of perspective. I think that gives me an added advantage because I’m not just thinking about Shanghai, you know I’m thinking about an international customer, I’m think about trends around the world rather than just here. My advantage is that fusion: east meets west and that tension of a women being sexy but fragile, independent but vulnerable. I think these are all elements of women that are important.

Hmm… good question! Well, I think as well that we are currently the only one doing a designer brand. You know Angelica Cheung once said to me, “Keep doing what you’re doing, because you’re the only one doing it.” That’s also a reflection of the time and the opportunity. I really believe that luxury Chinese brands are the future. We’re going to see more and more of this group.That’s actually the reason that I did the fashion map as a cofounder. I think that Shanghai doesn’t really offer a sense of community. There’s a fashion week but it’s really segregated and competitive and designers don’t really talk to one another. I just thought it’s really nice to start creating communities and we can only support each other and try to grow together rather than compete against each other. In the UK you have support structures like the British Council and there’s a lot more awards and teams and nurturing and community. That was my intent to bring some designers together. Like I said, I think we’re going to be rising. There’s a lot of interest in China and there’s a lot of talent here, but it’s still in an immature stage, it’s growing.

What’s your design process?
I suppose it starts with inspiration and I quite often get inspired by art. I love going to art fairs like Miami Basel; even Shanghai’s quite good for art. Then I suppose I think about my customers and myself. There’s two types of designers: those who design whimsical and those to do reality. I’m probably more on the reality side. I think about what women want, how does it feel, what do I wear, what occasions do we go to. I think of the lifestyle of some of my clients and what they need. I think I’ve got two clients. One is a very fashionista trendsetter who wants to be empowered by feeling sexy and tall and fashion. And then I’ve got another woman that’s indulgent and wants to treat herself and be comfortable at home but still fashionable. I’m a Gemini so I think that it’s a reflection of these two personalities. In my look book, you’ve got these kind of organic, provocative images that are pushing boundaries and then you’ve got these humorous fun ones.

What’s the worst shoe ever designed?
Oh. I don’t know, well I should probably say the Croc, but I think that every design has function and there are enough people in the world for everything to go around. We can’t all be creative, we can’t all be ambitious, we can’t all like high heels and we can’t all like flats. There’s a shoe that fits all. I should say there’s a Prince Charming for everyone.

If you could only own three pairs of shoes, what would they be?
Mary Ching, Mary Ching and Mary Ching.

Which styles?
I would need one pair of slippers, one pair of flats and one pair of high heels. Very practical then.

What do you never leave the house without?
Mr. Dim Sum

Aww, Mr. Dim Sum is very cute.
Also known as Spider Dim.

How would you describe your personal style?
I suppose it’s easiest to describe as to how people describe me: eccentric and eclectic. Very often my friends say to me, “only you could leave the house looking like that.” When I’m happy, I like to be colorful. I like clashing colors, I think its kind of fun and I like clashing prints. That’s reflected in my shoes. I like mixing materials. I don’t do it in such an extreme form because it needs to be wearable. I like to use lace and snakeskin with jacquard. I like the combinations and I try to incorporate it in my shoes, but my personal style is the more colorful the better.

A lot of people complain about shopping in Shanghai? What are the shops you would recommend?
Excited waving of fashion map
Thank you very much! The fashion map is your answer.

Oh, William the Beekeeper’s in here. How did you choose which designers to include?
Originally, I wanted to make it only Chinese designers but we also felt that there are some cool boutiques owned by westerners, so we shouldn’t limit it. So, it’s really just fashion design in Shanghai, but a cross. You can find a bit of street wear, couture, fashion, something for everyone. It’s an ability to explore the city at the same time.

Do you have a style icon?
I want to say Minnie Mouse. No, actually I really like Betty Boop and Jessica Rabbit.

I love that you said two cartoons. What’s your favorite city in the world?
That’s also a difficult one. There’s no one city because you always discover new ones. Obviously I love Shanghai and London and Paris. I love exploring cities in Asia like Seoul and Japan. I am definitely an urban girl.