NEW YORK — Lynn Ban, a designer known for her own style as much as her jewelry range, is jumping into ready-to-wear, debuting a resort collection with a party at New York fashion industry staple Indochine.
Ban carved her niche in the industry first through selling luxury vintage pieces and most recently with her unconventional fine jewelry, seen on Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and more. Her resort debut channels her own stylish sensibility through the lens of Bali, using local artisans in the Southeast Asian destination.
“It’s a place I frequent and true to my style and lifestyle,” Ban said of her collection, which is a partnership with Como resorts, found in in the Maldives, Parrot Cay, Phuket and Bali. “They have amazing craftsmanship, which lead organically to custom prints.”
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Ban’s local industry connections also lead her to using deadstock fabrics, helping her make the collection sustainable while supporting local artisans. During the pandemic, she crafted limited-edition caftans and cover-ups in sparkly lamé textiles, and the collection has a decidedly ’70s bent, featuring a series of iridescent, brilliant jewel-toned brocade, sequined kimono-style robes, jumpsuits and caftan styles paired with relaxed slipdresses. Colors ranged from jade, fuchsia, turquoise and bronze solids, to vibrant tropical palm prints. There is a small men’s capsule of khaki and printed linen caftans, hooded surfer ponchos, cotton voile shirts and relaxed linen pants.
“I designed this collection not wanting to conform to the conventional idea of resortwear but create bold, glamorous, wow statement pieces that could work for island and even city,” Ban noted. Selling through Como resorts puts her at 15 doors and she is open to wholesaling with other retailers. “From my jewelry, I have relationships with Matches.com, Net-a-porter. I’m happy to show them and we shall see,” she said.
Guests at the party also served as backdrop for another project Ban has in the works. The creative is a cast member on Netflix’s New York edition of “Bling Empire,” the reality series that chronicles wealthy Asian and Asian American fun seekers as they go all out with fabulous parties, glamour and drama. Ban, who is known to buy off the runway, will for sure turn a look at every moment on screen.
“Even when I’m getting a coffee, it’s got to be a look,” she said, adding that it’s been special for her to be able to showcase the creatives she came up with in New York City. “I want every little Asian boy or girl to think, ‘Wow I can go to New York and make it.’ We all come here with a dream.”
Speaking of the recent fall runway shows, Ban already has her eyes on quite a few things. “I sent my person 30 screenshots of Rick [Owens],” she said with a laugh, explaining that the person she shops with noted that some things come in a few versions. “Obviously, I don’t need every colorway…or do I?”
She also name checked Michael Halpern as a creative she always looks to. “He really is an an original designer,” she said.
And her own resort debut? “It has been organic,” she said. “Which with everything, has to be true to me.”