YUMA SHIH YUAN HSU: Raw to Refined Restraint
CALEB SCHAFTLEIN,
Could you please provide us with a professional introduction about yourself and your work as a fashion designer?
I graduated from the Royal College of Art in Menswear, where my graduate collection was strongly influenced by underground rock music. That became the starting point of my practice, which merges raw emotional energy with structured tailoring. Since then, I’ve continued to explore how rhythm, restraint, and release can be translated into sculptural garments that hold both emotional intensity and technical discipline.
What was your passion driving you during your journey?
Who or what inspired you to begin? I’ve always been drawn to things that are imperfect yet full of character, such as vintage garments that carry traces of life, raw textures, and music that holds restrained intensity. These elements inspired me to create clothes that embody both history and emotion, garments that are lived-in but also elevated. My passion has always come from finding beauty in the unpolished and translating it into something that feels powerful and personal.
Could you walk us through your design process, from concept to finished garment?
My process usually begins with instinct: collecting scraps, sketches, or deconstructed vintage pieces that spark ideas. From there, I move into experimentation in layering, manipulation, and balancing intuition with tailoring fundamentals. I let the process guide me, allowing unexpected forms to emerge, but I always anchor it in technical structure. This balance between freedom and discipline continues until the garment feels both surprising and resolved.
As a fashion designer, what sets your work apart from others in the industry?
I think it’s the tension I explore between chaos and order, and between instinctive creation and disciplined craftsmanship. My work often reflects emotional intensity, but it is grounded by tailoring and structure, which
gives it both softness and strength. This contrast creates a language that feels personal yet versatile, expressive yet wearable.
In your opinion, what are the most important elements of an extraordinary fashion piece?
For me, it’s comfort combined with clarity and strength. A piece should feel effortless to wear, but it should also carry sharpness, presence, and energy. The best garments allow the wearer to feel both at ease and empowered.
6. Do you have a particular technique, material, or styling approach that defines your signature style?
Reconstructed vintage leather and tailoring are central to my work. I often deconstruct and reimagine existing garments, shifting proportions and layering materials in ways that preserve their history while giving them new life. This method creates a dialogue between past and present, and has become a defining part of my style.
Do you have a particular technique, material, or styling approach that defines your signature style? Reconstructed vintage leather and tailoring are central to my work. I often deconstruct and reimagine existing garments, shifting proportions and layering materials in ways that preserve their history while giving
them new life. This method creates a dialogue between past and present, and has become a defining part of my style.
What is your favourite piece or collection you’ve ever created?
My RCA graduate collection, Untrammeled. It embodied the raw urgency I felt at that time, channelling suppressed energy into sculptural silhouettes. It combined reconstructed vintage leather, knitwear, and tailoring, and became the foundation of my practice. Looking back, it still feels like the purest expression of my vision.
Can you share an upcoming project or collection you’re working on, and the idea behind it?
I’m developing a new series that expands into knitwear while continuing my leather techniques, with a more refined, ready-to-wear focus. I want to capture the explosive energy of my graduate collection but translate it into garments that also carry restraint, clarity, and wearability. This project is about finding strength in subtlety, and pushing my language further into everyday contexts without losing its intensity.
Wardrobe Stylist: Masako Ogura @masakoogura
Photographer: JONATHAN BARON @jonathanvincentbaron
Makeup Artist: STEVIE SQUIRE @stevie.makeup
Photographer: Yuji Watanabe @yuji_w57
Fashion Designer: YUMA SHIH YUAN HSU @yuanhau
Hair Stylist: Asahi Sano @asahi_sano
Model: RHYS CLAXTON @rhysjclaxton
Wardrobe Stylist: LU GUIMETTE @luphilippeguilmette
Hair Stylist: HIROSHI MATSUSHITA @mr.hiroshi.matsushita
