Anna Yum with her cat Kaja in Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2023.

Phoebe Wong in her apartment in Chinatown, New York, 2023:

"I grew up a few blocks away from the World Trade Center in Tribeca. My mother's family had been living there since the 80s, an area they chose due to its proximity to Chinatown but with more spacious dwellings..."

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I grew up a few blocks away from the World Trade Center in Tribeca. My mother's family had been living there since the 80s, an area they chose due to its proximity to Chinatown but with more spacious dwellings. Back then it was a very quiet pocket of downtown Manhattan mainly composed of industrial buildings and a few new condos with a view of the Hudson River, a far cry from the ritzy neighborhood people know now. It's difficult for me to recall my life in NYC before 9/11, especially because of how much of where I spent my childhood was destroyed and rebuilt. Chinatown remains a place of great comfort - change happens at a slower pace there compared to the rest of the city. It's where my grandparents met, where my family's restaurant used to be, where I spent most of my childhood weekends with family and in Chinese school, the source of food on the dinner table, and much more.

My father and paternal family live in Hong Kong and I also grew up visiting them regularly. It gave me some perspective of what it is like to not be seen as a minority, but being an ABC / "jook sing" came with a constant struggle of being perceived as too white or too Asian depending on which side of ocean I was on. I once heard someone Japanese but living in America for a long time respond to the question of their relation to race and nationality as "I feel 100% Asian-American", and that statement feels very applicable to my stance on the subject. I remember always correcting people that Hong Kong was not the same as China, that I was Chinese and not Korean or Japanese, and that I spoke Cantonese and Toisan but not Mandarin... The list goes on. Many Chinese people insisted I must be half white because I looked a bit different. I heard it so often I kind of gave up on needing acceptance from others, which gave me confidence to stand out on my own.

My love for clothing started as a conduit for fantasy and transformation. I spent a lot of time alone as an only child, playing by myself, drawing, reading, imagining other worlds. I told my family I wanted to be a fashion designer at age 7 - long before I understood what the industry was. I figured out that I was more of an artist and craftsman than a designer while in college at FIT for fashion design. I need to create things with my hands and although physical labor like that doesn't pay very well, it is immensely fulfilling. I try to invest in articles of quality that will last me years and often form sentimental attachments with pieces in my possession for a while. It's important to me that I can wear them in good conscience so I lean towards natural materials that do less harm to our planet. They're tools in sculpting who I am and how I feel, as well as being armor and comfort.

Andrew Rusli in his apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, 2023.

Shelly Wong in her family home in Woodhaven, Queens, 2023.

Jessica Lưu Pelletier in their apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 2023.

Colby Sato, AKA Sativa Sunset in their apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2023.

Jessica Lưu Pelletier in their apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 2023.

Grade Solomon in his apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, 2023.

Shelly Wong in her bedroom in Woodhaven, Queens, 2023:

"I was born and raised in Woodhaven, Queens. As an Asian American woman growing up in NYC, I experienced a lot of racism where racial slurs were thrown at me, and in turn made me very self-conscious of my Asian features..."

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Andrew Rusli in his apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, 2023.

Colby Sato, AKA Sativa Sunset in their apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2023.

Jessica Lưu Pelletier in their apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 2023:

"For my living, I’ve been wearing a bunch of different hats in Entertainment. I’m always exploring as much as they’ll let me, so I’m hesitant to officially call myself anything besides a multi-hyphenate..."

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