San Francisco fashion designer Colleen Quen showcases heritage in her couture
By Betty Yu | Published May 27, 2024 10:49pm PDT | San Francisco | KTVU FOX 2
Oakland-born fashion designer gets SF citywide recognition
Couture fashion designer Colleen Quen said participating in the Union Square in Bloom fashion show was an awakening. She showcased iconic gowns from her expansive career in San Francisco, and debuted a special gown that represents the city.
SAN FRANCISCO - French couturier Colleen Quen is one of the few couture fashion designers in San Francisco. The 61-year-old has been creating one-of-a-kind, custom works for the last 25 years.
She recently had the chance to showcase her body of work to the public, as part of a campaign called Union Square in Bloom.She showcased eight iconic gowns from her career during a free Mother's Day fashion show.
"All my pieces are inspired by San Francisco and I really wanted to plant myself here, because there's really not much fashion. So if I can be one that actually represents San Francisco, I would be so honored," she said.
The quintessential "bloom gown" was made especially for the event. It took Quen 400 hours over two-and-a-half months to create the special gown, inspired by the dahlia, the official flower of San Francisco.
It debuted for the first time as part this year's Union Square in Bloom festivities. Quen made the gown by hand, sewing more than 500 silk petals in her San Francisco home.
She still uses her mom's sewing machine. She taught Quen how to sew when she was 5 years old.
"My roots come from here too, from Chinatown, my grandparents were Chinese medicine doctors," said Quen.
The third generation Bay Area native studied computer science at what was known then as Cal State Hayward, before she attended FIDM in San Francisco, and worked for brands like Gap. She later studied French couture in the city, and she ran an atelier business in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood for 15 years, before she took time off to battle breast cancer.
Her gowns have also been worn by celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Tyra Banks.
Today, she takes on special commissions or projects that also benefit the community.
"It kind of brought me full circle, because I've been kind of out-of -touch with the fashion world. I've been creating, but not for the public anymore," she said of the fashion show. "I want to give that blessing... to help the businesses, and let's bring the city into life and spirit again."
The Union Square Alliance hosted the designer for the second annual event in May.
"A really special component of our collaboration with Colleen was that the fabric was donated by Britex, which is a legacy business in our district," said Union Square Alliance marketing and communications associate Jessica Chilingerian. "Colleen herself said fabric was such an important element that got her into design. Her mom would make her dresses out of fabric she got from Britex."
Born in Oakland, Quen actively finds ways to learn about her Chinese culture. She studied Daoism, which emphasizes living in harmony, and extends her artistry into painting.
"My work is poetic," said Quen. "It all seems to work together and I understand more about my culture, why I'm here. Even though I wasn't born in China, I still feel that my roots are with me in my DNA. As an artist, it just comes out that way."
Quen said she was recently approached to create costumes for musicals, potentially in New York and Paris, which has also been a lifelong dream of hers.
CBS NEWS Bay Area features Colleen Quen “Celebrated San Francisco fashion designer brings math to her couture”.
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Colleen Quen revisits her fashion creations, it is more than just reunion. It's a reconnection with heart and soul.
"It is a part of me, I'm going to cry," Quen says. "These pieces are an extension. Every inch of my energy is put into these through my heart."
Her emotion comes from years of making one-of-a-kind dresses in the French couture style.
"I have about 180 pieces in storage and each one is different. They are timeless," Quen said. "If you take care of them, they become sustainable heirlooms."
From 1998 to 2013 Quen was one of San Francisco's celebrated fashion designers who dressed the city's elites, socialites and celebrities.
Quen's most popular piece is the "Madam Butterfly" dress. She guesses she has made four hundred custom variations for her clients over the years.
"That dress probably supported my businesses," Quen said.
Her signature piece is what she calls the "Empress Coat," a gold A-line flowing coat that is meant to resemble royalty. A picture of her wearing the coat from a magazine cover photo hangs on her wall.
"It's my pride and joy and I thought of it as 24 karat gold and she is a walking jewelry piece," Quen said. "I never wear my pieces but, when I put it on for the shoot, it felt like I was in heaven."
Quen studied fashion under the late Simone Sethna at the French Couture School in San Francisco, where she learned the art of what she affectionately calls "sacred geometry."
"Sacred geometry has this formula, this composition, but yet it is so beautiful because the way the numbers are calculated," explained Quen. "Art and math work together. It is all about designing for the human body where you can make a walking art piece."
Today, instead of shaping fabric, she is now shaping the next generation of fashion designers, passing along her couture knowledge to a small group of students inside her tiny studio.
"I want to share this because I feel honored that I was even granted to learn this myself," Quen said. "My teacher told me not to tweak any of this, to honor French Couture and teach if you want but don't tweak anything I taught you."
Quen's classes begin with meticulous calculations and formulas that resemble engineering rather than art. One of her students, Lea Luellen, found out the hard way.
"I was never good at math until I met Colleen," Luellen said. "She has taught me to use different parts of my brain to create."
"I feel this is my purpose in life, to learn what I can and master my work but to share because, once you become a master, you need to give back to the planet and to the people who want to be inspired by this," Quen said.
Colleen Quen trained and certified in France for fashion couture designs, and has achieved the highest honors in her program. She works in French techniques using the most accurate calculations to master her creations, she have dressed Paris Hilton, Tyra Banks, and other celebrities. Her fashion and artwork have appeared on magazine covers and in films, newspapers, and museums.
Colleen Quen | https://www.quenlife.com/
Glammas Wrap is produced by Clarion Performing Arts Center in San Francisco Chinatown. Website: https://theclarionsf.org/