ELLE.COM.AU / @ELLEAUS 123
“IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT’S
THE BIGGEST LUXURY BRAND
IN THE WORLD, IF IT’S NOT
RIGHT,it’s not going to work”
into journalism. She’s got a very intelligent perspective – all
her work comes from a truly creative place – but what I really
respond to is [that] she has something interesting to say,”
says designer Dion Lee, a friend and fan who’s collaborated
on various projects with Zhang. “The landscape is constantly
changing and she’s very in tune to how multidimensional
that can be. The way we communicate now has changed so
much and she reallyunderstands that and
really embraces new media andě
forms of communication.”
Z ę ę
camera at age 11. If it sounds precocious
then it’s worth looking at her upbringing
for context. She was born in Australia to
migrant Chinese parents who, although
from acommunity of accountants, lawyers
and doctors, were nevertheless encouraging
of her creativity. “I was really lucky in that
my parents wanted me to try everything
and then pick what I liked, so my
brother and I grew up doing ballet and
piano – music was a huge part of our
upbringing,” she says. “I feel like all
immigrant parents have this, where all they
Ĵ
they could never have.” While they didn’t
know about her blog until one of her dad’s
colleague’s children mentioned it well into
her degree, and still don’t truly understand
what she does, they’re happy to see Zhang
ę¢content living in an
apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village
that she was able to buy herself last year.
From an early age, the importance of hard
work was impressed upon Zhang, who recalls at just 14
deciding she was going to be a CEO – “I just thought it meant
¢Ĝ¢Ƿ” In a way,
ǰĜ
in the world sheę’d probablyprefer the
word assertive over bossy in her business dealings today.
If her parents are proud, her followers are potentially
prouder. For those who’ve tracked her work from the start,
no doubt it’s her dedication to authenticity that’s kept them
loyal. “It doesn’ Ĵ ’s the biggest luxury brand in
the world, if it’s not the right thing, it’s just not going to@