SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2022 / The anatomy of fashion is in constant rotation, burning and blooming with every season as something other than what it once was. For some, the act of fashion is the pinnacle of self-expression and one of the avenues for "high art", which typically unites various forms to explain a very personal idea or concept. In the same breath, perhaps we've become all too familiar with what fashion "is" and taken its frame at face value, forgetting to question or challenge our conventional perceptions of this ancient act of artistry.
The genesis of creative movements, like the LA-based name, Tangible Gratitude, force our eyes to see things differently and slip into total departure from the skeletal designs we're accustomed to. Still young, this figure in fashion has planted the early seeds of a renaissance, introducing an extension of wearable art that dives deep into emotion, perspective, and thought-provoking decisions. The growth of this brand is contagious and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Better still, Tangible Gratitude's expanse is limitless, and their reserve has proven to be far-reaching. The rhythms of Tangible Gratitude are flipping fashion on its back and opening up the sky to show us what possibilities live beyond the protocol, and how the idea of fashion can evolve as much (or as little) as we allow it to.
The brand's founder and lead designer, Victor Yuen, adopted the alias Thy Human to better explain his perceptions of the world and support his work in redefining personal growth as something that is consistently changing shape. In tandem with his label, Thy Human alludes to a pivotal position in society in which we are simply bodies navigating an ever-changing sea, becoming new landscapes and filling new spaces that reflect our unique journeys. As people, we understand things differently from each other as a result of our environments, and as such the way we interact with the world differs from person to person. Yuen's objective in establishing Tangible Gratitude is to invite an elevated understanding of luxury, or challenge the way we process refinement as a state of being. It may sound complicated, but the core of Tangible Gratitude's identity is self-awareness, inspiring us to decide for ourselves what "luxury" means and how we express it. Fashion has always been in the business of making statements, and despite its celestial DNA within the industry, Tangible Gratitude shares this motif in its quest to show us something more, to rattle the status quo and bring us back to basics.
Conceptualized at the close of 2019, Tangible Gratitude released its first statement piece on November 28th of 2020. The product was an ornately designed perfume bottle swirling with gold type and a call for stillness, soliciting solitude while dressed in deluxe accessory. The bottle stood as the debut of Tangible Gratitude's ideology surrounding stark contentment, and it was completely empty. The piece cured a craving for lavish indulgence while posing a more internal, personal examination of what that means to us. Empty as it was, the bottle held so much more than liquid opulence and remains a testament to the brand's mission of reinventing plush as it pertains to the individual.
The following year, marking one full rotation since the induction of the perfume bottle, Tangible Gratitude announced plans to present its first piece of wearable art, pouring into the existing concepts of "nothingness" and expanding into other shapes of artistry. At this point, the brand had already sparked conversation about our ideas of wealth and how they tend to assume physical things and high-profile creature comforts. The arrival of Tangible Gratitude's first garment was bound to stir speculation, and it did just that. On March 25th, Yuen hosted a large gathering marketed as the "World's Biggest Fashion Show" in Santa Monica, promoting the event as a luxury affair poised to reinvent formal attire. The show rose to the occasion and unraveled conventional standards in fashion exhibition, positioning the itinerary so that the guests themselves were the models, intermingling with Yuen's selected subjects who wore his first threads. The attendees were as much on display as the models wearing the collection, which was a single outfit tailored to solicit a new kind of luxury, one that embraced traditional ideas of formal wear and nothingness all at once. Tangible Gratitude's leading ensemble is simple and elegant, but not stuffy or primitive. The two-piece design is highly intentional and succeeds in making a statement about upscale dress, pointing a finger inward to our deepest levels of comfortability and solitude with time and place. The fashion show welcomed over 200 in attendance and spurred the beginnings of a new class of expo within fashion circuits, serving equal parts performance art and think-piece networking opportunities. The show welcomed open discussion on themes surrounding self-gratification and moments of rest, revealing the spectrum of what some people consider "luxury" to others. Tangible Gratitude's first fashion show held a mirror to the faces of all in attendance, striking introspection as it coexisted with neo-formality dressed in relaxed apparel. The goal was not to ask what is luxury, but why is it luxurious.
In the fashion world, catwalks are almost archaic, as more and more designers create unique experiences for their work that occupy performance space and other corners of creativity. Simply showcasing a new collection on the runway isn't enough anymore, mostly because the utility of fashion has already expanded beyond the spectacles of pageantry and demands real-world application. Tangible Gratitude may be the first in the business to sculpt fashion as an idea rather than an object, propelling the concept of luxury into a state of being that we shape for ourselves. This year, Yuen is planning to introduce home decor and furniture that command a room through observation, forcing us to stop and marvel at the value of a piece and where it intersects our standard of refinement. Readers are encouraged to subscribe to the brand's email list in order to stay on top of creative developments and new releases, which are bound to surprise and delight with each rotation.
Luxurious entities, from clothing and heirlooms to accessories and household ornaments, are only as bright as the light we choose to shine on them. Diamonds don't necessarily sparkle in the dark, and the celebration of luxury can be just as intoxicating for those who indulge. Tangible Gratitude is swiftly scrapping our concepts of what is considered upscale, correcting the narrative to support a position of leisure and self-awareness that defines a true treasure, nothing more and nothing less. The moment speaks for itself, and contemporary designers like Yuen are asking us to consider what gratitude might feel like if it were a concrete idea, a tangible emotion, and a body of self-expression.
Contact:
Victor Yuen
[email protected]
@tangiblegratitude
SOURCE: Tangible Gratitude