Creative Mentorship with Jonathan Liang

Being in the fashion industry for the past 9 years and boasting an impressive resume by working with brands such as Surface To Air, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Iro, Jonathan Liang has pioneered his own voice in the realm of fashion. The three-time award-winning fashion designer is currently the Creative Director for his namesake womenswear label Jonathan Liang. Despite the label being based in Paris, Liang’s fashion works have resonated and echoed back to our homeland as he constantly harkens back to his heritage as a way to seek new ground in the fashion world.

His experience in fashion and design has led him to spearhead branding and creative design for several fashion brands such as Nelissa Hilman, D.D Collective, Lana KL and more. He is currently Brand Director at KSK land, a prestigious property development company. Under his creative direction, his latest project with 8 Conlay combines Liang’s eye for detail and knack for structured pieces with the company’s commitment to delivering bespoke properties that prioritise design, craftsmanship, and lifestyle.

In this session, mentees got digitally up-close with this industry leader as he answered their burning creative questions in an intimate mentorship.

Watch the mentorship here:

"I actually studied Fine Arts and after graduating I casually took fashion as another way to express that artistic side I had and that somehow took off when I started to win awards in KL. I showcased in London in 2011 and in that show there were as a scout from LVMH the corporate group that owns Dior, Louis Vuitton etc.

There are talented Malaysians in fashion all over the world that we don’t know about.

"The scout offered me a junior design role and I took the plunge. I moved to Paris in 2011 and started my job in Givenchy for a year and a half because the head designer at Pre-collections was also Malaysian. There are talented Malaysians in fashion all over the world that we don’t know about.

"I wanted to change from Givenchy. They shifted me to Iro which was a contemporary brand and put me as a Senior there. It was more calm and then after that the sister company promoted me as head designer.

"DD Collective got in touch and asked me to be Creative Director and I had the liberty to travel. At the side I helped Nelissa [Hilman] and Lana [KL] and consulted them. We did everything from marketing to design and process of fashion. After they launched I would leave because it’s their own brand and they should own it. When I put too much influence an essence of me starts creeping in.

"Two years ago I got an offer from KSK Land as the Brand Director and thought it was interesting and the same week I got an offer from Prada so I was at a weird crossroads in 2017. I thought corporate design or something different back to my roots, and I decided to come back to KL to be with my friends.

"I’ve been with KSK Land to oversee their communications -- they run a lot of lifestyle brands, restaurants, retail, it’s really interesting how to start a brand from scratch in various industries.

"At the start of this year I started helping Bonia for their rebrand. 9 years of torture in France and now back in KL!"

"The highlight was being stocked in major brands like Jane Crawford in Hong Kong. There was a lot of learning of what the market truly wants.

"Every designer asks how much do you put into design vs how much you want to put into your audience as well. At some point you’ll feel like you’re lost. There’s no right or wrong.

"If you want to design for you, go ahead. That’s great. But then again you’ll probably need to also design for your audience. Forcing yourself to triple down on your creativity is more challenging than designing whatever you want."

"Only after a couple of years I admitted to myself that I struggled with some sort of anxiety. I would just sweep it under the rug. First you have to identify that you have an issue and it’s normal to have mental health issues, it’s a conversation to be had.

"As designers, based on science, we suffer more on this than other people. It’s a way our brain functions. To identify it, manage it. It’s about coming to terms of yourself as a designer.

"Tell yourself: There’s always going to be someone better than you out there. Always. That notion is really the downfall of creatives. Or you probably think you’re the best and you go out there and you’re not that special. It’s a humbling experience. The more you come to terms with that, it helps you manage your expectations and anxiety and that stems from insecurities."

"The challenge is understanding your audience and you’ll see the ones doing well internationally are foreign brands. Define international: is America alone international?

For example, Jacquemus is doing well in China region but not European region.

"Then corporate brands such as Prada, they have a footing in every market because they know their audience in every market. They cannot start a brand and go out there everyone in the world to enjoy your brand. It’ll never happen. Everyone grew up differently, everyone’s habits are different. They’ll absorb what they like differently.

"What we like are different to Singapore, etc. There is no one design that is formidable enough to penetrate well in every market.

"Do really deep research and start small: Singapore and Indonesia. What are they wearing and what they need. What is the gap? Have empathy for the people and your audience to understand that. If you’re a designer that’s too set in your ways as design, you’ll never penetrate any market."

"No matter how open-minded we are we never really like hearing people saying things about your work, in anything. You just have to build a thick skin. You have to take it all in and step out of the comments afterwards and see the wider picture.

"Sometimes the comments can hurt you so much but if used well, it’s your winning game in the design industry because you’re learning as people are commenting as well.

"When it comes to prestigious brands it’s harsh deadlines and short turnaround times. It’s a week for the best work and there’s no time to rework designs. Heads are hired for the talent of getting it right the first time around. It’s not very fair because you are a young person thrown into a world with barely any experience with the market sentiment.

"If you want to start a brand, work with a homegrown brand and understand the audience better and you get feedback better and apply that yourself. Then not stress about weird expectations that these brands will set on you."

"I’m still constantly trying to find this voice. The market changes every week, not every year. Every week something happens socially, politically. It shifts all the equations in society, and it shifts how people absorb media.

"With the Internet and algorithms you can sway your audience to like something. If you’re at the top of your game you can manipulate the algorithm of your audience and seed your products and people eventually buy into it. That’s how corporate brands create their trends. It’s not by accident. Back then it was, but now every trend you see is very manufactured by the media. It’s just business.

"Use that to your advantage."

"I think it’s in branding than designing. In the past 3-4 years I’m more attracted to doing branding where I can create worlds and craft stories and look at numbers and data. I enjoy doing that more than designing.

"I think that’s okay if you enjoy something more and you don’t enjoy that one thing that you’re good at it. Forget what the world’s expectations are of you.

"I was there, I was thinking what was the industry going to think? And then as I reached my 30s I was just like, 'Whatever. I don’t care what people think!'"

"Regret is something that a lot of creatives have but it’s such a taboo for creatives. I have a lot of regrets. I don’t know if I’ve turned it into something good.

"Don’t take it negatively, it can be empowering that people go through this cycle and you’re not alone. Once you get out of it it feels really good. It’s okay to have these moments and acknowledge it and use it to create work like artists create from sorrow.

"Power is to be had in the negative emotions, but don’t be trapped so long."

"I believe this is less commonly had in the male species because men are generally raised to be more empowered and I’ve seen that and been there. I’ve generally preferred women bosses because they’re 100 times competent because they struggle to get where they are. For the boys and girls dealing with it, there are times where you have to fake it till you make it. If you get promoted, unless it’s nepotism, you did deserve it . And maybe that position that you got into it feels bigger than what you are, that’s normal.

"When you take on a larger role, often time younger people think they’ll just do less work, but managing people is the hardest part of the job. It takes two people to start a drama so can you imagine managing a team!

"As creatives we are so used to doing the groundwork our lives because we’re hands-on in the items we create. People skills are 90% to survive. That’s the reality of the world and capitalism in general."

"We’re in the age of digitalisation, if you’re running a brand, you need to set up a platform for you brand outreach, I suggest that you do it right now.

"In every brand I tell them to panic, there’s a lot of things that we need to do and we have to be sensitive in a situation right now. I wanted to solidify their digital platform and how they communicate with their audience and how we check in with their audience. That’s how we survive.

"The audience will see how genuine as a brand you are -- the more genuine you are it will help you survive the pandemic. We’re in the age of emotive marketing."

"A mentor should be a very personal thing for you guys and it’s two-way. You can call me a mentor but you’ll take more from a mentor if you can build a connection with them and them you. That relatively will help you guys a lot and for the mentor to connect with you, it’ll give you genuine answers."

"Lower your expectations. I think the first thing is that you don’t owe yourself to anybody. I feel like every company I’ve been in, I give 200% like I owe them just because they pay me.

"The reality is that no, I don’t. Understand your value as person as well and the work that you give to a company you love should not be the priority over your health and the relationships around you.

"If you’re just helping them build their dreams, it’s not yours. Find out what exactly are your own dreams."