When I got offered the chance to go and meet one of Young British Designers fashion designer darlings, Yan To, I jumped at the chance! Described as ‘an innovative womenswear label’ I was intrigued to see him in action. I trundled over to meet Yan To at his studio and had a fabulous time photographing him as he worked on his SS13 collection and also got chance to try on a few of his SS12 pieces!

Yan To explained that he is all about creating pieces that make the women who wear them feel fantastic.

“Design for me is a love affair. My philosophy is that the foundation of love is the understanding of how a woman wants to feel when she is wearing a dress.” — Yan To

Here’s a few more of my FAVOURITE SS12 Yan To dresses.

This navy wool dress with multicolour ruffle detail collar is the perfect length dress for my 5ft 6" height - long torso and not so long legs. The colours are awesome too!

Another stunning and rather experimental Yan To piece. The dress features glass, aluminium and Swarovski crystal detailing! I wore this to a friends wedding and it got some fabulous compliments. Figure hugging, and still rather modest. Sexy monochrome at it’s very best.

The Yan To Black Halterneck Dress with Ruffle Trim. Hello LBD! I love the concertina effect of the ruffle detail on this dress. All lovingly stitched into place.

The Yan To Elastic Sunshine Yellow/ Gold Dress has the scoop-de-la-scoop of necklines, and gracefully grazes your shoulders only to plunge down at the back as the elasticated design holds you in around the stomach and also emphasises your curves and (ahem) tiny waist. The peek-a-boo black and electric blue ruffle detail around the bottom half of the garment adds textural interest.

The Yan To Grey Dress with Multicolour Elastic Insert, another of my FAVOURITE pieces from the SS12 collection. I love the clash of red and electric blue against the pale grey body-con dress. 

The Yan To Grass Maxi Dress. This dress reminded me of something that you might see the gorgeous Paloma Faith wearing, and with its cute peplum-esq matching tailored green grass-effect jacket, it was actually rather fun to try on! The low-slit back detail was very sexy too I thought! 

Who doesn’t love frolicking around and playing dress-up in a designer’s studio? I certainly do!

Interested in seeing what Designer Yan To has got in store for us this AW12 &  SS13?

Have a look…

http://yan-to.com/

Follow them on Twitter:

Yan To @ByYanTo

Young British Designers @YBDFashion

Photography © Lucie Kerley / Yan To.