May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, an annual tribute to the community integral in both America’s history and its future. While supporting AAPI brands year-round is always a great move, this month is the perfect time to recommit to supporting the business that help enrich our world. From fashion world favorites like Kim Shui and Syro to kitchen must-haves from Our Place and Sanzo, there’s no shortage of inspiration to add to your closet and home. See NYLON’s 10 favorite AAPI brands ahead.
Ready-To-Wear
Allina Liu
Allina Liu’s dreamy, feminine silhouettes have established her as a designer to watch among the coquette lovers. The line is flirty yet innocent: Come for peeks of skin through white cotton eyelet, sheer organza, and perennially on-trend bows.
Kim Shui
Ask any real party girl and she’s got a piece (or two) from downtown New York’s favorite designer Kim Shui. Her corsets and dresses are showstoppers, often featuring intricate brocade fabrics or nods to her Chinese heritage with qipao silhouettes, beaded dragons, or saturated, Lunar New Year-ready red for good luck long all year round.
Bulan
Bulan breathes new life into traditional knitwear with eye-catching remixes like contrasting textures, cutouts, and double-cuff details. And with materials like extra-fine Italian merino wool, Bulan’s sweaters and cardigans are sure to last season after season.
Accessories & Jewelry
Syro
Inspired by queer communities worldwide, New York-based Syro’s femme footwear and accessories are designed to be seen both on and off the dance floor. It’s all in the details: boots with elongated and curved heels, knotted leather straps that look like chains, and purses that come with their very own stiletto.
Kara Yoo
Kara Yoo’s jewelry is darling without breaking the bank. After a decade in the jewelry industry, Yoo has found her spot in designs that balance East Asian minimalism and Japanese design philosophies like wabi sabi with Y2K maximalism. There are bold, vintage-inspired statement pieces made of lustrous black obsidian, chord necklaces with silver and beaded bows, and everything in between.
Ming Yu Wang
Ming Yu Wang’s philosophy can be distilled into wearable art. As a child in Taipei, Wang watched her stylish mom play mahjong decked out in statement jewelry — a formative experience for her design process. Now, her jewelry is sculptural and timeless, with clean lines and shapes worthy of being called adornments.
Food & Home
Poketo
Vibrant and eccentric home and office goods are the wave at Poketo, from abstract shapes that double as desk organizers to bamboo tableware that will liven up any meal.
Our Place
Since launching in 2019 from Pakistani-American entrepreneur Shiza Shahid, Our Place has made a name for itself for its marriage of practical cookware and attention to design. In particular, the multifunctional Always Pan is oven-safe, free of toxic materials from PFAS to lead, and comes with an unbeatable 100-day trial.
Sanzo
In a perfect world, every gas station, grocery store, and overpriced deli in America would be stocked with Sanzo. Created by Queens-born Filipino American Sandro Roco, it’s a game-changing seltzer: bright and smooth, fruity and fragrant. Sanzo fills a cultural and palate blind spot with flavors inspired by popular Asian fruits: The lychee flavor is floral but never cloying, while the yuzu and calamansi flavors are refrigerator staples for their tart, citrus notes.
Omsom
Started by two first-generation Vietnamese American sisters, Omsom’s saucy noodle offerings are created to taste like a homemade meal. The air-dried noodles are available in rich flavors from chili sesame to coconut lemongrass curry. Plus, with a four-minute cook time, they’re the easiest thing to whip up in the kitchen after a long day.
