{"id":7553,"date":"2011-02-08T18:02:13","date_gmt":"2011-02-08T18:02:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-15T00:19:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T00:19:25","slug":"asian-designer-overcomes-poverty-to-scale-fashion-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=7553","title":{"rendered":"Asian designer overcomes poverty to scale fashion industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The documentary, \u201cDressed\u201d is a compelling story of a young clothing designer, Nary Manivong<\/strong>, who defied the odds of a broken childhood and homelessness to reach his ultimate dream, a show of his collection at New York Fashion Week. A truly inspiring story that unfolds against the backdrop of the fashion industry in New York. Woven within his story are accounts and commentary from leading fashion industry experts, students and designers who relate their own perspectives about what it takes to make it in the highly competitive world of fashion.<\/p>\n

Nary\u2019s parents, of Laos descent, abandoned their family of four<\/strong>, when he fourteen, leaving the children (Nary, his twin brother, younger brother and sister) alone to fend for themselves in a Columbus, Ohio apartment. Between looking after his brothers and sisters, often times separated from them and living on the street, he managed to work several jobs, attend night school and eventually graduate with his high school class in 2000.<\/p>\n

Yet even under the kind of pressures many adults find daunting, Nary<\/strong> remained focused and determined to become a fashion designer. He worked tirelessly sketching his designs and creating garments with scraps of fabric and a sewing machine give to him by people who believed in his quest. His unrelenting spirit captured the attention of local reporter Mike Harden, who followed his story from the production of his first fashion show in Columbus at age 17, to the disappointments he faced once arriving in the \u201cBig Apple\u201d. <\/p>\n