Mochi Magazine » fashion shoot

Fall Fashion Feature: It Takes Two

Mochi Magazine — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:57:10 +0000

Our favorite fall looks are captivating and modern—but whether you’re playing dress up with vintage clothing or getting ready for a big night out, there’s nothing more fashionable than spending some quality time with your best friend.

Photographer: Mandy Yeh
Styling & Creative Direction: Mandy Yeh & Jennifer Kung
Models: Sheri Chiu (Decorum Model Management) and Tiffany Leu
Makeup Artist: Cleo Chen
Hair: Yeden Lee
Photo Assistant: Tiffany Ayuda

Clothes & Accessories
Twolive Tree: twolivetree.com
Anna Lee: annahaewon@gmail.com
Twinkle by Wenlan: shopping.twinkleliving.com
The Wise and Wearfores: ww-shop.com
ESU: theesu082@gmail.com

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Hip-Hop Duo Misnomer(S) On Style, Sisterhood and Sticking Together

Stephanie Wu — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:55:56 +0000

In some ways, sisters Knewdles and Sos have what is possibly the most typical sibling relationship in the world—they fight, they squeal on each other, but they also are closer than ever. Yet most sisters don’t grow up, move in together, and decide to start a hip-hop group of their own. Below, the sisters answered a few questions for us.

What were you like as children?
Knewdles: We were big readers. We were crazy with books.
Sos: Our parents banned us from reading—we’d read in the car, in the shower. It became a form of rebellion. Growing up with Asian immigrant parents, there’s a language barrier. They wanted to control so much of what we did, but they didn’t know what we were reading. In their mind, reading is good, but we read a lot of crazy junk.

How did you two get a long as children?
K: Our family dynamic bonded us together. It was us against them, them being our parents. But at the same time, we were both angry kids. I would get angry when she sold me out to my parents, but we had each other’s backs. That’s what carries into adulthood every day. It’s pretty intense because we chose to do this together, but we don’t have a typical sister relationship, where we’re best friends. We’re constantly fighting and negotiating and all that goes with it, but optimally, it makes our music better.

How did you get the idea to start a group together?

S: Since high school, Knewdles was always really into hip-hop and thought she’d be a ghostwriter. I quit violin for seven years, but once I started playing again, I thought I’d start a career in classical violin. Then I started playing with some rock bands, and just couldn’t go back to classical. It was a pretty natural transition.

How did your family react?

S: They reacted better than I thought. The difficult part was when I said I was going to play violin professionally. They said I was insane. But when we started doing stuff together, they said it was cool. We joked that we could do anything—start a garbage collecting business together—and our parents would be happy. They like for us to take care of each other outside the home. And now they’re supportive, and like our music.

How did the names come about?

S: Originally, Knewdles was Miss Nomer, MC. Then when I joined, we added the S in parenthesis, which could stand for sisters, or strings. Then I came up with Sos, for Sis on Strings, and soon after that, people would say, you’re Sos, what are you, Noodles?

K: Then it actually became Knewdles, which suits me. It’s a verb, a noun, your brain, your body, it’s everything. When you noodle, it’s musical. But I wanted to spell it differently. The funny thing is that it totally makes sense. Noodles and sauce is Asian, but every culture has a noodle and pasta in it. It only makes sense because we’re Asian. That’s the awesomeness of the name.

What was the process of recording your first CD like?

K: it never takes the amount of time that you think it will. A guy that we worked with mixing the album said, “You can’t think of an album as being the end all be all, it’s just a time stamp. Whatever you get, recording-wise, by the time you hear it, you think you can do it better. At some point, you have to accept it’s a moment in time and move on with it. Let it go. Did we do that successfully? Yes. Unfortunately, for us to achieve that moment in time, it took a lot longer than we would have wanted.

How do you influence each other?

S: The question should be, “How do you not influence each other.” It’s hard to say where one ends and the other one begins. Sometimes it’s for the best, sometimes, for the worst. Our music is how we influence each other for the best. It’s bigger than us, and we’re able to get behind that.

Describe your relationship in one word.
K: Enduring.

S: Karmic. I really feel like my sister and I have a deep eternal connection. It’s a strong bond. We’re such mirrors and reflections of each other, but from total opposing sides. There are times when we really hate each other and there are times when we really love each other. We’re so connected that that only thing that I’m sure of is that our connection is beyond this lifetime. We have some sort of great mission together, even if it’s just to change things between us, or to do something for other.

For more information about Misnomer(S), visit knewdlesandsos.com.

Photographer: Brandie Raasch
Stylist: Stephanie Wu
Hair & Makeup: Eva Notis

Where to buy:

Alice Yim: aliceyim.com

Banana Republic: bananarepublic.comDuskin: Gray trousers, sequined shorts and leopard dress at duskin-ny.com; coral dress at openingceremony.us; lace top at creaturesofcomfort.us

Elva Fields: elvafields.com

Emily Elizabeth: emilyelizabethjewelry.com

Miss Me: Black sequined blazer at missme.com

MM Couture: Olive green dress at revolveclothing.com; white dress at missme.com; black sequined dress at belk.com

Muir k: muirk.com

Peggy Li: peggyli.com

Plutocracy: beplutocracy.com
Prismera: prismera.com

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The Sky’s The Limit

Mochi Magazine — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:19:28 +0000

This winter, flaunt your figure in the best styles for your body type.

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Yin Chang: The Girl Behind the Glasses

Stephanie Wu — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:17:03 +0000

On Gossip Girl, Nelly Yuki is perhaps the most complex character in the it-girl group. We’ve seen her buried behind her books, acting in a fat suit during the school play, using the girls against one another to climb the social ladder, and, in the finale, hitting on our dream boy Dan Humphrey after one too many drinks. Mochi meets Yin Chang, the actress behind Nelly Yuki, for the scoop on what goes on behind the scenes, from the casting office to the infamous fashion closet. Click on the images below for Mochi’s first-ever photo shoot with Yin!

Q: You were born and raised in New York, like all the girls on Gossip Girl. Tell us about your experience growing up in New York.

A: There were lots of cliques in my high school. I had my own clique — I’m the type of person who’s okay with a close group of friends. I don’t need 20 million friends; I’m good with five or six close friends. A lot of Asians, when they grow up in a predominantly white neighborhood, feel the pressure of wanting to look Caucasian. I think I had that a little bit early on in high school or late middle school. But now that I’m older, I embrace my culture. I definitely felt at times that all the kids that were popular also happened to be white. Every kid just wants to fit in.

Q: After high school, you decided to pursue a career as an actress. What was the audition process for the role of Nelly Yuki?

A: Actually, her name was originally Sally Yuki. The audition was for all Asian girls, and even some mixed Asian and Caucasian girls. Since there are hardly any Asian roles out there, all the Asians try out for whatever roles they can get. I was really nervous because my mom was like, “If you don’t get this, you’re going to have to start thinking about a real job.” I wanted to prove to my mom that I could last a little bit longer in the industry. I got a callback, and on the second day, I met with the producer, the director, and the casting director. I didn’t show I was nervous at all – I went in and did my thing. It took a week and a half to find out that I got it, and during that week and a half, I could not sleep or breathe. I wasn’t even too aware of the show. I just went in thinking, a job is a job. Sally’s description was that she was going to be Blair Waldorf’s academic rival. That’s all the information I knew.

Q: How did you find out that the character had changed from a popular girl to a nerd?

A: I had already gotten the role, before knowing it was going to be a nerd. I went in to get my clothes fitted, and the costume designer said, “These glasses would be SO cute with this outfit.” And I said, “Glasses? What do you mean glasses?” Apparently, the producers decided to change it up and made her a nerdy Asian. I’ve never played a nerd before, so I thought it’d be fun to stretch my acting range. Of course there are stereotypes, like the whole glasses thing, but I think it just has to be one step at a time, especially in America. Asians having roles and chances in the industry is hard to come by already. I’m not going to complain about the character. I was able to get the job, so I’m really grateful.

Q: Do you think Nelly Yuki is a good role model?

A: In the beginning, I thought she was a great role model, because she was really into her books and she minded her own business. But then throughout the show, they wanted to create more drama and developed my character a bit more, making her surprisingly manipulative and conniving. As an actor, I thought that was really fun to play. It just adds more levels and range to the character. But I have two younger sisters, and of course I wouldn’t want either of them to be conniving or manipulative. But as an actor, I was glad that she was getting some color.

Q: What’s the fashion like on Gossip Girl?

A: We showcase a wide variety of up-and-coming fashion designers and well-known designers. In the beginning, Eric Daman wanted Nelly Yuki to look subtle with neutral brown colors, and then as she started conforming to the group, he added colors like orange and pink. It’s very intelligent of him. It’s a subtle way of showing that she’s becoming a part of Blair’s group.

Q: How often do you hang out with the cast and crew off-set?

A: Outside the set, we go to parties together. Leighton is really sweet and gracious – she always tells the girls to get ready at her place. I’ve gone to her place several times just to chill before the whole party thing. The cast members are all great. We all get along quite well. You work there so much, it becomes a second home. It’s always really great to get along with your castmates; it just makes everything so much easier and enjoyable.

Q: What about the Leighton and Blake rumors?

A: So false. They get along very well. They always joke around… I don’t see where those rumors come from.

Q: What do you do in your free time when you’re not filming?

A: I’m taking classes part-time right now at Hunter College. I got in during the regular high school process, and in the beginning, I was juggling full-time classes with auditions and filming. It was hectic because teachers weren’t happy I was absent, but I wanted to further my career. I was filming a lot for season two, and I had to skip class a lot. And I learned not to overload myself with so many classes. I don’t have to technically be in school, but I would love a degree or two. Also, my parents would be happy. [laughs] Now, I take classes on the weekend. I’m double majoring in creative writing and media.

Q: What was your parents’ role in making sure you get a degree?

A: The whole deal was that if I wanted to do acting, I had to be in school. I had to have something under my belt in case nothing came out of the acting thing.

Q: Do you see yourself staying on the acting path?

A: My dream is to be a working actress. I just want to do the best that I can do, and I’d be really happy with that. Thrilled.

Q: What’s next for you, now that Gossip Girl is between seasons?

A: I’ve been busy going to events. I was asked to be a guest judge for an Asian organization called Kollaboration. It has a great mission: bringing more Asian American entertainers into the American industry. I would love to support them. I really hope that if I do become successful that I can make a difference–-not only by participating in charities and events, but by helping open more doors for Asians.

Interview has been edited for clarity.

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