Cynthia Cheng Mintz

West coast native, Angela Chen recently debuted her rebranded collection, now called OR, at LG Fashion Week.  Her Spring/Summer 2011 collection was inspired by the early 1980s movie, The Blue Lagoon, especially by the lead character, played by Brook Sheilds.  The collection is versatile, with the ability to take the wearer throught the day, and is, according to Angela herself, “wearable, whimsical, structured and feminine.”  OR was previously known as Orange by angela chen and launched shortly after Angela’s graduation from Parsons. Since her fashion debut, Angela has been seen in a variety of media outlets, including Elle Canada, Fashion Television and Much Music.  She has also dressed many celebrities, including supermodel Coco Rocha and singer, Katy Perry.

Angela on how she’s different from her contemporaries:

I design for women like myself and there is only one Angela Chen in the world to design the way I do!

Angela on the fashion industry being criticized for the limited size range (whether it be large or small):

It is very hard for an emerging designer to cover all sizes. My sizes tend to cater to petite girls because I have many Asian friends that always have a hard time finding clothes that fit them.

Angela on expanding her availability in brick and mortar stores:

Yes  I am in talks with some stores in Toronto. I would love to be able to work with them. I also currently have stores that are selling in the US and Taiwan.

From the OR Spring/Summer 2011 collection, as seen at LG Fashion Week in Toronto

On which celeb was a favourite to dress and which one she’d like to dress:

All my celebrity clientele are beautiful confident women. For this season, I would love to dress Brook Shields!

On where she’d like to see herself in the next five to 10 years:

Building an OR empire! Selling in stores around the world and hopefully, one day I’ll be showing in New York Fashion Week!