Sarah

Written by Hayet Gessese

From New York to Sydney, Sarah shares her intimate journey.

Sarah Chung hails from New York City where the stereotype for New Yorkers is ambitious, ‘get things done, and do it at a fast pace.’ Sarah possesses all those qualities but does it with such love, grace and a gentle and kind heart, that one might wonder if she actually is from New York. Sarah’s fashion work has been featured in multiple magazines. She is currently one of the lead fashion designers for the startup fashion label "The People Vs." Her enthusiasm for the church and denim are just the some of the small details that come to mind when people think of Sarah. Her heart for Christ and her love for people shine above all.

How did fashion design come about?

I grew up as a classical violinist and thought about pursuing a career in that field and I definitely grew an appreciation for it, but I knew that this was not it. I knew I wanted to do something in the creative realm but I did not know how, so I started with fine arts in high school. Once I started college in NYC and did my foundation year, I grew really inspired by what people were wearing on the streets. That is when I knew I wanted to learn more and be trained as a fashion designer.

Classical Violinist? Please do elaborate…

My parents wanted my sister and I to be well rounded in a variety of different things. They wanted us to experience and learn things that they could not when they were young. Playing violin was one of the many things that my parents allowed me to learn. I played for a little over 13 years and have been able to play in an orchestra (FYO) for many years. I considered going to college for classical music but decided to explore visual arts which ultimately led me to learn fashion design in university.

How has your heritage played a part in developing who you are?

Over the past year in 2018, I began to realize how much my heritage has played a part in developing who I am today. I have always associated myself as American and did not want to really know about my Korean heritage. I grew up in Miami and there was not a large Korean community. The Korean community that I did encounter was on a Sunday at a small Korean Presbyterian church that my family attended.

Coming to Australia and attending Hillsong College where students are from all over the world, I was challenged to face aspects of my identity that I was trying to hide or run away from. I realized by being open to some of these facets to my identity, that there is so much more to what I have previously stereotyped or even assumed. I have found that there is so much that I do not know about my heritage but by being more open to listen and ask questions, I started to see the beauty in my heritage. Most importantly, I was able to connect with my parents and my family on a deeper level and relate and talk to them.

How close are you with your family? Did you grow up in a Christian home?

I am incredibly close with my family. My family is currently living in NYC and we talk almost every day. I am especially close with my mom and I must say that she is my favorite person. I am realizing more and more how much of an incredibly selfless woman she is. As I talked about before, I grew up in a Korean Presbyterian church and my parents sent me and my sister to every youth camp, church event and worship night!

Can you briefly describe your coming to God moment?

I decided to do my own thing and stopped going to church when I started college. I rebelled all throughout those years. After 6 years of doing my own thing and trying to do everything in my own strength, I was worn down and heavy burdened of what the world says is good for you.

My super gracious friends that dealt with my “rebellious” years kept inviting me to a church that they attended. After years of asking me, one day I said yes. I sat by myself one Sunday and knew that God was speaking to me through the message. I knew in my heart that at that moment, he was telling me that he valued me and that I did not have to carry the heavy load that I was carrying. I decided at that moment to seek a relationship with Jesus.

What are the fashion influences or any influences that have impacted your work?

Music has always played an influential part in the way that I design. I have always been driven by creating strong concepts and having good research behind what the concept is for a collection. I am extremely interested in street fashion and what people are wearing in all areas of the world. My training at my previous job at Ralph Lauren has been more traditional in what people are accustomed to wearing. I think there is something about taking something traditional and transforming it into something familiar but different.

Can you talk about your time at Ralph Lauren? What was that like and what did it teach you?

I worked at Ralph Lauren for 4 years designing Men’s denim at Polo, Black Label and Purple Label. The company trained me specifically in looking at vintage detailing from wash, fabrication, trim details, etc.

I learned so much about denim wash at the company and loved working with the wash team and production team. The people that I worked with gave me so much opportunity to trial different things and brought me under their leadership to learn about the industry and the brand. I learned how to communicate with factories on a product development stand point and have really grown an appreciation to what it takes to produce a garment.

You talked about traditional vs progressive. What is the tension you face when designing? Are you looking to bend the rules now that you already have that traditional training?

I heard a message from Robert Fergusson about paradox and I can relate that theme to almost everything. When designing, there is definitely the tension between literal and conceptual as there is with traditional and progressive. I think as a clothing designer, you get to make a decision to stand in the tension of both paradoxes and make a decision to find a good balance within the tension of the two.

What was the moment when you wanted to give up, and how did you overcome it?

I wanted to give up in design, about this time last year. I had already bought my ticket to move to Sydney and my time had come to an end in the previous company that I was working for. I went through a very intense year and I felt burnt out and did not want to have anything to do with design. I later realized that the opportunities that were opening for me were in design. During my time here in Sydney, I had the most incredible people that have encouraged and prayed for me to find vision and purpose. Having trusting and caring people to do the journey with, that challenge you to seek God first in everything that you do, makes you feel like you are able to overcome anything.

You mentioned burnout. What challenges have you faced in your time in New York City? How did that develop you as a person?

Burnout is a massive thing that I have experienced for myself and also have seen many colleagues and individuals in the industry face. It is a real thing. The real challenge that I faced was learning to be transparent in saying “No” and also having good communication with the people that I work with. I took on a lot of things and kept taking on more and more because I was afraid to say “No,” thinking that it would make me look weak or people would think that I could not handle it. I have learned that it is better to have a “no” so that you can give your one hundred to the things you have said “Yes” to.

Having those people in your journey are foundational in doing life. Who have those people been?

This is such a hard question because there are SO many people! I have made incredible friends here in Sydney as well and I am so grateful for them. They have literally seen a lot of ugly from me and have yet to be my biggest supporters here. I have a friend named June who I did college with. She always kept me in check. I am grateful for her because she keeps it real and even though times got difficult last year, we always seemed to find a good laugh through it. I think she is one of those people who I am so blessed to do life with.

Have you always had that support from your family and friends back home?

My family and friends back home have always been encouraging and supportive. I really feel like God has brought me people that have really been so supportive of my journey. My family has always been supportive of me.

Can you talk a bit about your past accomplishments?

Well, this is uncomfortable! I graduated from Parsons the New school, in 2011 and my first job out of college was at Ralph Lauren. I worked there for four years and a door opened to start a new activewear brand at Spanx. I took the opportunity and worked there for two years. After the two years came to a close, I worked as a designer at a company called R13Denim for two and a half years in denim design.

I also had the incredible opportunity to serve with such incredible people in the creative world here in Sydney through Frontline Creative. They’ve literally been such an answered prayer for me and helped me so much to grow and learn in partnering with the Holy Spirit to build the church.

What was moving to Sydney like and how did that affect you?

Moving to Sydney was such a challenging decision for me

As this year progressed, I realized that I had so much security in my job title, finance and relationships that I built in NYC. Moving so far away from everything that I was comfortable and familiar with allowed me to realize that my dependency and security is firstly in Jesus. I had the revelation that everything else needs to flow out of that stance.

What mattered then that does not matter now?

I truly feared and cared about what other people thought of me and their expectations of me. I put so much pressure to live up to the expectations of others. All these different voices and opinions distracted me from listening to the voice that actually truly mattered. There’s so much freedom in knowing whose voice to listen to and whose opinion matters the most in your life. This is definitely an ongoing journey but I’m definitely making progress.

Whose voice matters the most in your life now?

God! I think praying and having conversations with God is the most incredible thing. The fact that we can hear from him and communicate with him anytime and anywhere humbles me. I’ve been reminding myself to communicate with him more and more each day with the little things as well as the big things. Philippians 4:6-7.

What do you think God was trying to show you this past year?

I think this past year, I had a revelation of God as a good father. He’s good because that’s who he is and that’s regardless of what I do for him. I had this revelation when I first became a Christian and over the past couple of years, I think I lost sight of that. But this past year, I was reminded again of his goodness and that he was, and always will be a good father. I think that brought me so much freedom in every aspect of my life.

What's next?

I finished up my time at college and have headed full-time into designing at The People Vs.. I’m excited to see how God will be connecting the dots for design and the market place for reaching people that have not yet been reached.