How Designer Andrew Kwon Became a Bridal and Eveningwear Darling

Watch the full conversation between Andrew Kwon and Deputy Editor Ana Colón on The Fashionista Network.

Andrew Kwon originally enrolled at New York City's Parsons School of Design as an architecture student — but he always knew fashion would be a part of his future.

"I did architecture because I was I think a little afraid of the stigmas of what fashion came with, especially growing up in a lot of suburbs, and I didn't want to be called any names or be judged in any way," he told Ana Colón live on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!)

But even in a different department, Kwon still found a way to connect his work to fashion. (He especially admired Peter Marino, who has designed boutiques for Dior, Fendi and Louis Vuitton.) Eventually, though, he pivoted to fashion design — and he credits internships at Marchesa and Vera Wang for sparking an interest in bridal and eveningwear, specifically, as he "really got to have a lot of [his] hands put into some of the works for their most beautiful collections."

When it came time to launch his eponymous business during the pandemic, Kwon knew having a strong, strategic business plan was key. He released his debut bridal collection in 2021, on Valentine's Day, on Instagram, and got early support from Jessica Jung of Girls Generation and editor Edward Barsamian, plus some notable press coverage, including a Forbes profile.

"It was really a slow build [growing my brand through] word of mouth... women that were getting married or mothers of the bride and mothers of the groom that were looking for a dress or saw a dress that was in white, but asked if I could do this in color," he said. "That really took a full year to build this type of client base for myself." (That led him to grow the collection with eveningwear in September 2022.)

"It's interesting because as a designer, you want to be as creative as you want to be — and you can be — but for some of your most creative pieces, [there are factors] you have to think of [like], 'How easy is that going to be to produce again? If there's crazy draping involved, you have to understand that not everyone is that standard model figure of a 24 [inch] waist,'" he continued. "You're selling to more people than just that standard model size, so you often have to question if that's going to be easily producible. You have to also understand if it's super creative and it looks beautiful on the runway and photos, is that gonna translate well onto the client that's really buying into it?"

Listening to his clients and being mindful of where the market is heading has informed Kwon's design approach. It's also allowed him to establish close relationships with his clients, and build a notable red-carpet presence, with stars such as Constance Wu, Lucy Liu and Regina Hall wearing his pieces.

Kwon recently closed New York Bridal Fashion Week Spring 2025. As he reflected on his latest collection, he highlighted how he was "able to dive into [his] cultural background and heritage," and go back to his design roots of making "pieces that felt different in bridal." Inspired by Greek goddesses and Old Hollywood glamour, the collection is filled with meticulous craftsmanship and experimental techniques that are equally stunning and high-impact — the effect he was going for.

"I'm a designer, but I'm also an entrepreneur," he said. "I think there was just something so fresh about this collection that made me really excited, and I'm just very proud — of the collection, of my team and the people that were there and able to support me."

This conversation was hosted on The Fashionista Network powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about The Fashionista Network here.

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