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LOS ANGELES, Apr 12, 2004/ FW/ --- Sue Wong is one designer who is true to herself and goes for what she wants to accomplish. She has been designing for the past 35 years. And considering that she started designing on a whim, then you become more fascinated with her work.

Born in communist China in 1949, Sue Wong’s family escaped to Hong Kong when she was five and finally immigrating to the U.S. in 1955. Growing up in Los Angeles, she wanted to be a painter, and was awarded a scholarship to the California Institute of the Arts after high school.

But her very conservative parents wanted her to pursue a more traditional career such as a teacher or an accountant; hence she enrolled at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Fate (or you might call it destiny) intervened, when she won first place in a contest sponsored by Arpeja, the then hip fashion company for younger women.

And at a very young age of about 18, Sue used to sketch designs for the lead designer of Arpeja everyday for three hours after school, and in less than a year she was hired full-time as a designer in Arpeja’s sportswear division.

Trading her education for a life in fashion, she never looked back, opening two boutiques in Venice and Hollywood, leaving Arpeja after only a year, to sell clothes under her own label.

By 1972, Sue Wong’s clientele included Hollywood’s A-list from Goldie Hawn to Victoria Principal. And by another twist of fate, she would go back to Arpeja, as a lead designer this time, taking the company’s sales from $3 million to $51 million annually in just three years. She stayed there for 7 years, and in 1979, she went independent once again. Sue Wong, Inc. was reborn!

Two decades later, she is still going strong, designing 5 collections each season, a mean feat by any standards.

When asked, where she gets her inspiration from, she simply said, “It comes from within, the intuitive sources, influences and discipline I had growing up. From the classic movies I used to watch growing up living in Hollywood. From the Hollywood glam eras of the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.”

Though she did not mention it, Sue Wong is also influenced by the Victorian era, as one can plainly see just from the intricate detailing and craftsmanship she puts into her collections. She delivers romance, sophistication, glamour, style, femininity and sexiness all wrapped up in one on all her collections. [more]

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