Lingerie speaks from the inside out – to the woman within, and that’s exactly the vision of designer TyLynn Nguyen. The model-turned-lingerie designer and mother of two always knew lingerie would be a part of her future. Her desire to create a line of sophisticated, minimal pieces translates into a collection of intimates that are both entirely wearable and sexy.
What moved you to design your own line of intimates, and from where do you draw inspiration? I knew I wanted to design when I was 12 years old. I would watch my mother get dressed in the finest clothes and read her fashion magazines. I saw women as blank canvas that could be transformed into anything they wanted to be through clothing. I chose lingerie as my medium because I had a teacher in college that noticed I gravitated toward small and intricate designs. She would tell me stories about how important lingerie is and how she saved her money to take a trip each year back home to her native France to shop for new intimates. She inspired my desire to start from the inside out. I draw my inspiration from all of the beauty I find in the world and my own personal style. I love the 70’s – early 80’s – 90’s supermodel moments and try to incorporate those looks into each garment.
What is the artistic appeal of designing a garment as intimate as lingerie? It is seen by only yourself and your lover. That is what attracted me to lingerie. I am designing a love letter of sorts to both the individual woman and her chosen lover.
Describe the belief of “amour de soi,” and the empowering nature behind the idea: Amour de soi means the love of self regardless of others opinions. I believe once the woman accepts herself, stops apologizing for her natural sexuality, and lives her own way only then will she be free within her mind and start making positive choices for herself.
You mention that the outer appearance is a projection of our inner selves, can you elaborate? It’s like the heart and soul within. If our heart and soul aren’t right you can see it all over our faces and our body language. Same with lingerie. The heart is to lingerie as the skin is to our clothing choices.
As women, our lives are often focused on others to the point that we can forget ourselves. How do you set aside time for yourself, and why do you believe this to be important? I plan ahead. It’s important to keep your sense of self and love the woman you see in the mirror.
What is your best piece of advice when it comes to balancing work and life? Planning! I plan my week in advance and find it to be so much easier to execute my duties. I mean, with 2 kids and a husband and a full-time career, I could not get anything accomplished without a well-executed plan. (Will and determination are important, too.)
What do you believe it means to be a woman? To me being a woman is taking ownership of who you are, what you like, pleasure, and what makes you happy. Also, learning that one isn’t perfect and that you don’t have to be.
TyLynn Nguyen Intimates SS16 will debut at the Coeur show in Los Angeles Oct 12-14. For more information, visit TyLynn Nguyen Intimates.
Gallery image credit (left to right): Karl & Kristoff, Paul sun. Portrait of TyLynn Nguyen by Anna Stephania.
