When Rizzoli first approached designer Sandy Liang about creating a coffee table book, the downtown darling admitted it wasn’t a project she would have had the confidence to pitch herself. The idea of a book—something permanent and unchangeable once printed—felt overwhelming compared to the ever-shifting, fleeting nature of fashion design. You can tweak a look between the runway and the store, and if you want to reinvent an old design, there’s always next season. “I’m one of those people who feels like the job is never done,” says Liang, flipping through the book’s pages for the first time in her Lower East Side studio. But one nagging thought pushed her to put it all down on paper: Liang has never kept an official archive. That’s how Dressing Up, a hand-annotated diary of a decade of memories, came to be.
Even though her studio is covered in photos, cluttered with knick-knacks, and packed with fabric samples, clothing racks, and sewing machines—you name it—the Sandy Liang archive, in the most literal sense, barely exists. There’s no printed catalog of first-look polaroids from each runway show, no temperature-controlled storage unit holding all the greatest hits, and countless old sketches have been tossed out or lost over time. In the designer’s own words: “It’s a freaking mess.” But it’s a “mess” that this project has inspired Liang to reshape.
The book-making process, much like Liang’s designs, started with a fond childhood memory: scrapbooking. “I love scrapbooking, and I feel like I’m such a memory collector and hoarder,” she says, somewhat ironically—it’s really just the formal organization that’s missing. Liang began by digging through thousands of photos on her iPhone: backstage shots and e-commerce images mixed in with personal milestones like her engagement, wedding, and the birth of her child. This mix of images, each paired with a first-person note covering everything from her first Monchhichi doll to the original idea behind the Sandy Liang ballet flat, comes through as a free-flowing stream of consciousness on the page.
The low-fi style brings out a girlish nostalgia, a feeling that shows up in many of the designer’s childhood-inspired collections, but it’s also grown stronger as she’s felt the urge to preserve these memories as a mother. “I feel like a book is such a time capsule, and that’s what’s so fascinating to me about it,” says Liang. This nostalgia is clear to the brand’s inner circle too. W Youth Magazine’s Ava Niuri conducted the interview with Liang for the book, and actress and close friend Greta Lee wrote the introduction. “We met at a moment when I was grasping at what it would possibly mean to be a young woman, still blossoming and still becoming,” wrote Lee. “I love Sandy—always have and always will,” she adds via email.
For the reader, Dressing Up is as much a story of a brand as it is a tribute to memory. It’s also a reminder of the lifelong records that friends, families, and your favorite brands keep. For Liang, it marks the final page in a twelve-year chapter that’s now closed—well, not without asking Rizzoli before print if they could squeeze in a few more favorite collections first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about Sandy Liangs new book and her archival process written in a natural conversational tone
General Background
Q Wait I thought Sandy Liang was a fashion designer What is this about an archive
A She is Sandy Liang is known for her playful feminine designs For years she never kept samples or extra pieces from her collections She realized she had no physical record of her own work so she decided to create one
Q So she created a physical archive
A Yes but she also created a book She compiled her past work photos and memories into a beautiful hardcover book published by Rizzoli The book is the archive
Q When was this book released
A It was released in early October 2024
Q Is this a biography or a lookbook
A Its a bit of both Its a visual autobiography that mixes professional campaign photos behindthescenes shots personal snapshots and notes from her designs over the years
Q Im not a fashion person Would I still like this book
A Probably yes Its as much about New York City street style youth culture and the feeling of nostalgia as it is about the clothes It has a very scrapbooklike personal feel that appeals to people interested in art and culture not just fashion
The Book Content
Q What kind of content is actually inside the book
A It features a mix of lookbook imagery editorial photos and personal photos from her family and friends It also includes essays and text that dive into her inspirations like her grandmother Chinatown and the Lower East Side
Q How many pages is it
A The Rizzoli edition is 256 pages long
Q Does the book cover her entire career
A It covers her journey from her very first collection up through roughly her 10year anniversary so it acts as a retrospective of her first decade in fashion
Q Is there a specific theme to the book