What is Lu’u Dan?
Lu'u Dan means “dangerous man,” or enraged in Vietnamese.
Cool. So are you Vietnamese?
I grew up in America. My parents are Vietnamese. They immigrated after the Vietnam War.
How has your Asian identity influenced your work as a designer?
I’ve never worked around identity — my personal identity — until the murder of George Floyd. Suddenly, there was this huge awakening regarding race. And then I realized that there isn’t enough representation of the Asian male.
How does Lu’u Dan represent your perception of Asian masculinity?
Lu’u Dan was born around this idea of a dangerous man, a bad boy. And the most common representation of that in western media is the Asian villain, this kung fu expert or bomb kind of technician. And for me, that type of character needs more depth. He’s not fleshed out enough, he’s a one dimensional trope.
That’s so interesting. Is that where the Japanese bōsōzoku gangs come into play?
Right, so we’re playing with symbols of punk rebellion and gang culture. Bōsōzoku is a kind of motorcycle gang culture from the seventies and eighties. What Lu’u Dan does is spotlight the untold stories of Asian gang culture through a fashion lens to add depth and authenticity to those characters.