TAIWANESE BRAND REMAKE BY YI LAUNCHED IN 2018, WHICH MAINLY REMAKES VINTAGE MILITARY CLOTHING. YI IS A ROMANIZATION, WHICH MEANS [一][衣][藝][逸] IN CHINESE. ITS TRANSLATION MEANS [one], [clothes], [ art], and [the name of the designer]. IT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS A PIECE OF ART-LIKE CLOTHING REMADE BY DESIGNER YI.

REMAKE BY YI IS A ONE-PERSON STUDIO WITH MANY YEARS OF CUT AND SEW SKILLS, DISASSEMBLING CLOTHING AND PIECING THEM TOGETHER TO CREATE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORKS. DUE TO THE DISASSEMBLY PROCESS, EACH GARMENT REVEALS UNIQUE COLOR VARIATIONS AND REMNANTS OF THE ORIGINAL STITCHING, ENSURING THAT NO TWO PIECES ARE EVER THE SAME.

LAST YEAR’S COLLABORATION FEATURED A GHILLIE JACKET INSPIRED BY HLVTC’S ICONIC GHILLIE UNIFORM AND INCORPORATED THE SYMBOLIC SHAPE OF A FLOWER — REPRESENTING AN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT. THIRTEEN ALPHA INDUSTRIES’ MILITARY GREEN BUTTONS WERE CAREFULLY PLACED ON THE FLOWERS, INTERPRETING THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL COLONIES.

“ALPHA INDUSTRIES CONTACTED ME IN 2021, BUT I HAD NOT CONFIRMED MY BRAND STYLE AT THAT TIME. IT WAS NOT UNTIL WE STARTED WORKING TOGETHER THAT I BEGAN TO USE VINTAGE MILITARY UNIFORMS TO REPRODUCE THE MAIN PRODUCTS OF THE BRAND AND LEARNED MORE ABOUT U.S. MILITARY UNIFORMS WHEN DISASSEMBLING THEM. AS THE LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF FASHIONABLE CLOTHING WITH MILITARY SILHOUETTES, ALPHA INDUSTRIES IS HIGHLY COMPATIBLE WITH MY BRAND.

WHILE UPCYCLING AND REMADE IS MORE COMMON IN PLACES LIKE JAPAN, HONG KONG, EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE VERY FEW BRANDS THAT HAVE BEEN REMADE IN TAIWAN; AND THOSE THAT FOCUS ON MILITARY UNIFORMS ARE APART OF THE MINORITY. WHAT I WANT TO DO IS NOT MAINSTREAM, BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE TO BE THE SAME AS TOO MANY PEOPLE. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO MY CREATIONS, JUST LIKE MY BRAND NAME “YI,” WHICH ACTUALLY MEANS “ONLY” IN CHINESE.”

- WU