Inside Julian Chang’s Creative Cocoon

Fashion designer Julian Chang has always been inspired by the art he sees and the creatives he meets. So, when Miami shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and Chang couldn’t visit museums or the Design District, he started feeling stifled and stuck in his Miami Beach condominium. For a guy whose work has been defined by the mixture of cultures and textures he has experienced, Chang felt he needed more breathing room and a light-filled place that would give him more flexibility and inspiration.

Online, he found a 7,000-square-foot home in a golf course community in Miami Lakes.

“It was very peaceful,” he says, recalling the first time he saw the residence. “There were trees everywhere. You could hear the birds. There were windows and wonderful views. The light was wonderful and changed all the time throughout the day. It was just so beautiful.”

Chang bought the house, moved in immediately, and slowly decided what he wanted to change.

“I wanted to wait and have the house speak to me, which it did,” he says. “And then, very organically, I started talking to different designers and local artists and brainstormed with them about what to do.”

It took a year, but Chang collaborated with UZCA Designs and a multitude of local carpenters to craft a bespoke interior that could serve as an ever-changing canvas for his life and work. With its calming hues, warm woods, and exceptionally well-made furniture, Chang’s home is a mid-century backdrop that can be adjusted and reconfigured, depending on his needs.

“If I wanted to have a fashion show, I could do it,” he says. “If I wanted to have an event with my customers or friends, I could do it. That flexibility was part of the design.”

It’s also a common thread in Chang’s own life. Chang grew up in Peru, the second youngest of five children and the lone boy in the bunch. With a Chinese father and a Peruvian mother, he recalls how those two cultures mingled and influenced every aspect of his life, from the food he ate to the decor in his home.

“I thought everybody lived that way,” he says. “And that gave me a different way of seeing things and an appreciation of workmanship, colors, and textures that would influence my collections.”

As the owners and operators of a company that produced chemical products, Chang’s parents inspired their son’s work ethic. When his mother met with clients, she was always impeccably dressed in bespoke clothing. Chang fondly remembers going with his mother to the seamstress twice a month, where they would look through magazines and select fabrics. He recalls watching her new ladylike outfits emerge from a sewing machine.

“It would be like a date night for us, where we’d [go to the seamstress] and then go out to eat at a nice restaurant,” he says. “Those are happy memories for me.”

Looking back, Chang says that moments like these influenced his decision to become a fashion designer. Though his mother supported his dream from the beginning, he says it took a little bit more work to convince his father that he had a future in the field.

“My father wanted me to be an engineer and to go to engineering school in Spain,” he says. “I was terrible at math. But he said, ‘Go ahead and try [design school]. If you love it and you’re good at it, then you can continue.’”

At 17, Chang moved to Miami to attend the Miami International University of Art and Design. Almost instantly, he was captivated by the city’s cultures and was exposed to religions he had never encountered. Though Chang originally thought he’d earn his degree and return home to Peru, he began to view Miami as home.

“It’s a wonderful place to be,” he says. “And over the years, my immediate family has moved here too.”

As a student, Chang focused on learning the business and craft of the fashion industry, interning for magazines and freelancing as a designer for swimwear, as well as men’s and women’s apparel. By the time he graduated in 2001, he had three job offers to consider. He took an assistant designer position at a sportswear company and was promoted to head designer after only eight months on the job. But Chang’s heart was in launching his own label. He wrestled with the decision to resign, but eventually realized that if he didn’t take action, he’d never accomplish his dream.

In 2007, he launched the Julian Chang label from a spare bedroom in his apartment. But it was slow going. At first, he designed for friends (and then friends of friends) before he could afford to hire his first seamstress. Then things took off. Chang began designing custom eveningwear for celebrities like Madonna, Paris Hilton, Gloria Estefan, and Janet Jackson. Now, his pieces can be purchased online as well as at high-end boutiques around the world, including his Miami store on 3rd Avenue in Little River.

Chang’s accolades include Miami Fashion Week’s Pret-a-Porter Designer of the Year, Women’s Wear Daily ’s Up-and-Coming Ready-to-Wear Designer to Watch, The Ebenezer Award of Honor, Vogue LatAm’s Designer’s Choice Award, and the key to the City of Miami Beach. Known for his use of bold patterns and flowy silhouettes, he has carved a niche as a designer who understands exactly who his clients are and what they need.

“[The Julian Chang woman] is 45 years old and up, travels, and likes to be fashionable but [she] doesn’t have to be the perfect size four,” he says. “She wants to look wonderful and updated, and she’s someone who appreciates quality. Our collections are timeless. We have customers who have had a jumpsuit for 10 or 12 years.”

Though his styles change to meet the moment, Chang says his DNA hasn’t. He is just as hardworking and detail-oriented as he ever was. At press time, he had just finished work on his Spring/Summer 2024 collection and started on Fall 2024. Custom orders also keep him in demand and busy, especially during the holidays.

It’s likely he’ll show some of these collections at his home, he says, and it doesn’t bother him to host a show in a space that is so personal. For him, the inspiration is the point.

“I like beautiful things around me,” he says. “If I am in a place, I want to feel inspired. Here, I can be working in the garden or sketching out back, and that works for me. I am very fortunate that I am able to have these wonderful spaces that I can make work for what I need. I think that really reflects who I am.”

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