It’s such an honor to speak with someone who’s been leading impactful change in Taiwan’s fashion industry. I see Storywear as a true pioneer in the sustainable fashion movement here. You’re educating our community on the often overlooked, less glamorous side of fashion, reshaping consumption mindsets, and offering solutions to address fashion’s waste problem. How did the vision for Storywear come to life?
When I started Storywear, the fashion industry was already the second-largest polluter globally. In Taiwan, and much of Asia, very few people were aware of this fact. Even if they knew about fashion’s environmental impact, they didn’t fully understand what Storywear’s products and values stood for. Our mission encompasses everything from land preservation and human rights to ocean pollution, overconsumption, and carbon emissions. It’s essential to spread awareness about how the fashion industry pollutes the environment at every stage of the supply chain. This has always been Storywear’s driving mission.
Is Storywear’s vision the same now as when you first started, or have there been any major pivots along the way?
Storywear’s mission has remained consistent over the past six years. While our production has grown significantly, our focus within the fashion supply chain has become more specific—we are committed to addressing fashion’s waste problem. Our business revolves around taking discarded jeans and transforming them into new, stylish pieces through a zero-waste production process. With our products, we aim to educate consumers to rethink the concept of waste. Old jeans can be redesigned and upcycled to have a second life, carrying new stories.
The same idea applies to secondhand clothing. By recognizing the value of vintage and pre-loved pieces, consumers will begin to appreciate sustainability in fashion. That’s our ultimate goal.
Often, when entrepreneurs hit a milestone or reach a tipping point, they can seem like an overnight success. What the public sees is usually only a small part of the story, and many people misinterpret what they see on social media as simply luck or pure talent. I’d love to dispel that myth. I’m sure behind every milestone Storywear has reached, there’s been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears behind the scenes. What have been some of your most challenging moments in building Storywear, and what helped you push through?
The first four years of Storywear were incredibly tough. In the six years since we started, we went through two years of COVID, which made the business unpredictable. When I first launched, it was just me and an assistant. The market was receptive to my designs and the upcycling concept, but then COVID hit. Overnight, we couldn’t sell our products because we had no physical outlet, and online sales were very poor.But COVID wasn’t the only challenge. In the beginning, it was extremely difficult to find a production company willing to work with recycled materials. When we finally did, they turned us down because our orders were too small due to the limited fabric we had. It took us 1.5 years just to find a production partner who could complete our first collection.
Another major challenge was educating consumers about the value of our products. Most people don’t understand why items made from recycled materials can be more expensive than fast fashion. It’s been an uphill battle to get people to see the value in what we create.
Thankfully, we were fortunate to receive support from companies like 7-Eleven, Levi’s, and even banks and tech companies. Their funding and partnerships helped us survive those challenging first four years, and we’re incredibly grateful for their support.
In addition to running a growing start-up, you also teach regularly at Xue Xue. Can you tell us a bit about what you teach there and how it’s been going? You already have so much on your plate, yet you still find time to coach and educate the next generation. With so many other endeavors you could focus on, why choose education?
Education has always been central to Storywear’s mission. We believe it’s essential to engage and teach about the value of sustainability from a young age. That’s why I always make time to share my knowledge and experience at schools like Xue Xue.
At Xue Xue, we teach high school students. We start by introducing the concept of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and explain what the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) mean. Rather than focusing solely on upcycling or sustainable fashion, we encourage students to create their own entrepreneurial plans and business models, with one key constraint—it must be centered on impact and the SDGs.
Young people are full of ideas. They’re incredibly creative and smart. When you’ve been in the industry for a long time, it’s easy to get stuck in a particular framework or way of thinking. I actually learn a lot from my students. They are our future. Not only do we inspire them, but they also inspire us to think differently and push for more.
What’s next on the horizon for you? What do you envision for the future of Storywear?
Storywear is planning to open a sustainability-focused department store that brings together brands as committed to sustainability as we are. This platform will not only offer sales, but also host events and educational initiatives. It will be a space where customers can trust that every brand we feature has been thoroughly vetted for its sustainability practices.We want customers to understand that sustainable fashion is a broad concept. It includes everything from using organic materials, like organic cotton, to embracing repair, secondhand clothing, and more. Finally, there will be a place where people can interact with a variety of products and brands that truly care about sustainability.
Last question— I know you mostly wear what you create now, but is there something in your closet from before Storywear that you’ve had a hard time parting with? What’s the story behind that piece, and why is it so meaningful to you?
I actually have very few clothes in my closet. At Storywear, we focus a lot on making jackets, so I don’t have many items for layering underneath. However, I do have clothes that have been with me for over 10 or even 20 years—like my first high school uniform, my first surfing outfit, and even my first Juicy Couture tracksuit that I bought with my own money in college. These pieces hold a lot of sentimental value, so I can’t let them go.
But the most special item in my wardrobe is one of my dad’s old suit jackets, which became Storywear’s very first piece. It didn’t fit me at first, so we reconstructed it to fit my frame. That jacket holds deep meaning for me and represents what Storywear is all about. Now, no matter where my father is, I carry a piece of him with me.