For a young designer, Dingyun Zhang has had tremendous success, to put it mildly. Zhang has collaborated with luxury labels like Moncler and, most recently, Marni, created custom pieces for musicians like 21 Savage, and worked for YEEZY while continuing his studies at Central Saint Martens (Zhang only graduated in 2020). Zhang is even rumored to be working on an adidas sneaker collaboration.
That's a lotta wins for a guy who's only just releasing his own products for the first time.
Nearly everything Zhang has produced in his young career thus far has been in partnership with another company or made at an artist's bequest.
It's a pretty incredibly achievement to have a Birkenstock collaboration and the YEEZY BOOST 700 sneakers on your resume, to be clear, but working with these kinds of wealthy patrons is the only way that some of these talented designers are able to find their footing. Fashion is an expensive business, after all.
But you can now finally buy Dingyun Zhang products, over three years after he became a cult favorite worshipped by Instagram-obsessed fashion folks.
On October 3, Zhang announced that his new web store would sell limited run of the "Blue Reflex Helmet Bags," a brilliant Aitor Throup-style design that's both a giant weatherproof hat and backpack. And reflective, too.
The bags launched at the end of the month and, rather than retreating into his work, the normally reticent Zhang kept the drops coming. A couple weeks later, he issued a reversible puffer vest, a remarkable turnaround time for the patient designer.
As of late December, the drops have continued, even without promotion on Zhang's Instagram page. Socks (!) arrived, as did a black iteration of his bag, a pair of cargo pants.
Demand was obvious: nearly everything sold out instantaneously even when there was hardly any information on the page.
The $420 pants' page, for instance, only offered two semi-blurry images and a single size run. No information on sizing, materials, properties, anything. Doesn't matter — folks want Dingyun Zhang.
It's nice to see an indie designer succeed on their own merits.
Zhang used to assemble everything he made himself but now has a studio and a small team, which is presumably how he's able to create these small product runs.
“Growing organically without trying to expand too soon is something I’ll try to focus on,” Zhang told Highsnobiety several years ago. "The state of fashion right now when it comes to young designers seems more lucrative in terms of exposure and opportunities."
It makes sense why it took so long for Zhang to start selling products, really. He was fortunate enough to be in a place with a following and recognition for his talents but also so self-aware that he wouldn't allow himself to grow inorganically.
Too many small creatives force themselves to expand too quickly and find themselves overwhelmed by order volume and the cost of the business.
Better for any indie designer to work at their own pace.
Sometimes all it takes is a cosign from a famous person to clinch an indie label's fortune.
Zhang was lucky to have that and more, thanks to his many partnerships with household names like Moncler and Birkenstock.
But Zhang also has the design chops to stand tall on his own merits. His work isn't just good because someone popular said it is; Zhang's actually carved out a niche based on the strength and distinction of his own vision.
Zhang's approach to puffy clothing is so inimitable that it's inspired fanart, tributes, imitators — not too many other young designers can say the same.
About time that he finally invited fans into his own world free of collaboration — not that anyone'd be complaining about more Dingyun Zhang-ified Marni or Moncler, mind you.
