Inspired By Powerful Women Of History: Carolyn Yim’s Latest Knitwear Collection

Joan Didion, Marguerite Duras, and Alice Coltrane have each played muse to Carolyn Yim. Their intelligence and fashion choices forming the basis of Yim’s latest collection for Ply-Knits.

Yim comes from a long line of knitwear creators: from her parents to her uncles and aunts, and to her grandmother — who worked with John Galliano as an embroiderist on his first collection at Dior. Considering this, Yim’s choice of a career in knitwear is unsurprising, as are the places from which she draws her inspiration. Based between New York and Hong Kong, the label pays homage to these two cultures: and it is their oppositions that make Ply-Knits so interesting. Yim’s combination of fabric and detail, silhouette and concept, result in pieces that are informal showstoppers. Her garments also pay tribute to thinkers and creators, and in the latest collection for Ply-Knits she looked to female writers, philosophers, painters, photographers, and filmmakers for inspiration. In a recent interview, she remarked; “I am inspired by women of character. For this Spring, I issued three recreations of knitted garments I saw on three women I admire: Alice Coltrane, Marguerite Duras, and Joan Didion. Their style reveals character; their clothing does not overshadow their personality.” You can purchase the S/S18 collection on the Ply-Knits website.