How Grace Ling Became the Fashion Industry's Rising Star to Watch

In our long-running series “How I’m Making It,” we talk to people making a living in the fashion and beauty industries about how they broke in and found success.

Not even Grace Ling fully understands what compelled her to launch her eponymous brand during the height of the pandemic.

“The first few years, it felt almost frivolous. I was like, ‘Am I really launching [a] luxury [brand] when people are dying?'” she laughed. But the risk proved to be worth it: Five years since introducing her label, Ling is an industry darling.  

The Singaporean designer’s aesthetic is so unquestionably unique and eye-catching that Net-a-Porter took her brand on only two years after its launch. The following year, she made her New York Fashion Week debut in September 2023. The following year catapulted the label even farther: The brand was a 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, ultimately winning the 20th Anniversary Mentorship Award presented by Gap Inc.; and won the first-ever CFDA/Genesis House AAPI Innovation + Design Grant. This year, Ling was just announced as a finalist for the 2025 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards. The brand is a celebrity favorite, too, and has been worn by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Alex Consani, Karlie Kloss and Anitta. 

Now, Ling has achieved a new milestone, officially opening her first flagship store near New York City’s Hudson Yards. “It fits into the universe in terms of the aesthetic we are doing,” she says of the newly opened shop. “I also have a huge passion for home and interior design — which is something that I want to expand into in the future.

Ahead, Ling discusses launching during Covid, navigating wholesale, championing 3D printing and sustainability and more.

Tell me about your earliest interest in fashion, before you pursued it as a career.

Before I did fashion, I was doing fine arts, like sculpture, and I was also very interested in performance arts, like Marina Abramović-style. I was also doing modeling on the side just for money, meaning, while I was involved in fine arts, I was dabbling in the fashion world. Eventually, I started making these wearable art pieces that I was performing in. That was when I decided that I wanted to do fashion. I think that fashion is, in a way, more accessible than fine arts because people can [better] understand it. 

You studied at Parsons and Central Saint Martins. How did your fashion education shape you into the designer that you are today?

I did most of my college years at Parsons — I did one year at CSM. College gave me a lot of time to do a lot of research and find my design identity. Since the moment I decided to study fashion, I already knew that I wanted my own brand. When I graduated, my thesis was essentially my grand launch marketing strategy.

I read that you interned at Thom Browne and The Row during your college years. How did you land those dream opportunities?

For Thom Browne, my friend had an internship in a different department, and I begged them for contacts. I was like, ‘Please, please give me somebody’s email. I don’t care who. Somebody@thombrowne.com is fine.’ I think it’s mostly about having a really good, professional portfolio and cover letter. 

What lessons did you learn from those intern days that you still carry with you as you build your brand now?

I definitely learned more about luxury, tastefulness and aesthetics. But what I mainly realized that I take into my own brand now is that it doesn’t matter where you work — who your boss is is so important to your mental health. I try to be the best leader that I can be for my team because I do want it to be a good working environment.

Following your graduation in 2020, you immediately launched your brand. What were those first couple of years of business like, especially amid a pandemic-impacted economy?

Covid provided me with an intense focus. It’s rare these days to actually just sit down and focus. I was really able to build up products that I felt were very authentic to me. 

The economy was so weird because it was Covid, but there was a surge in online demand, and then there were people who just wanted to revenge spend. It really started picking up in 2021. Then in 2022, Net-a-Porter picked up the collection and it just started taking off from there.

You’re well-known for blending technological innovation with sustainability. How did you end up specializing in 3D printing and how do you continue to develop your hand for tech innovation?

When I was doing fine arts, I was really interested in a lot of 3D software, and to be honest, all of those 3D software are self-taught. The learning curve is really steep, but I just went down somewhere deep in YouTube watching a ton of tutorials. At first, I just did 3D printing and CGI, just because I thought it was cool. I didn’t have any intention to turn it into something, but when I started the brand, I brought all my passion into it — which includes the 3D printing techniques — and I thought it was special because I didn’t want to make something that already exists in the market. I then realized that 3D printing is a sustainable way to produce things as well.

The chrome aesthetic I do goes into these big couture pieces, and it also goes into the buttons and trims. Aesthetically, these metal pieces became symbols and codes of the brand.

How else does sustainability factor into your design practice?

Basically, 3D printing is a zero-waste technique: You only print what you need.  Also with CGI, the technology can create a lot of design iterations without making the actual thing. We can play around, see what we like, see what fits and tweak it before making the final thing. So there’s a lot of waste during the design process that’s being cut out.

How does your point of view in fashion set you apart from other designers?

The technology stands out and the chrome aesthetic is really unique to us, but I think what really makes it relevant and sets it apart is the constant modern sensibility. It doesn’t go outdated.

All these A-list celebrities, they want to wear the pieces. Celebrities are getting paid by huge brands to wear their garments, and can really wear whatever they want. Yet, they choose to wear my brand and sometimes choose to buy my brand.

Last year, you won the first CFDA/Genesis House AAPI Design + Innovation Grant, were a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist… What did those pivotal moments mean to you and your team?

When I won the first CFDA/Genesis House AAPI Innovation Grant, the financial grant that came with it was really impactful. Of course, I got the recognition from the industry and I designed three looks that were exhibited and everyone got to see them, but the financial grant was really helpful. I was able to hire people, and because of that, I was just able to do more. Just from that grant, I was able to grow the company by 50%, which is a lot.

Do you feel any added pressure now having this industry attention on you?

I think I like the pressure because I didn’t come this far just to stay this far. Even the other day I was like, ‘Oh, no, I’m not that small anymore. I can’t just post random things anymore.’ It’s not like I post random things, it’s more of like, ‘Oh, if I were to announce the store opening, we’ve got to be careful. We’ve got to let the media announce it first.’ […] But, it’s a good problem. 

On that note, with your first flagship store opening, how did you know you were ready to take that step?

Last year, I did a really chill pop-up. I was just like, ‘Let’s have people come in and do some in-person trying. I’m just going to post on my Instagram, and see who’s going to come.’ […] It was very successful. Also, I noticed that people would sometimes contact me and then they would ask, ‘Hey, can I come and try [clothes on in-person]?’ 

When people try something on, they really see the fabric, the texture and all this engineering technology that we put into it. Online is like, ‘wow, super chic campaign imagery, cute.’ But when someone tries something on, I can physically see that they change into a different person when they’re wearing the garments. I just think that that is so empowering. From the beginning, the reason why I started my brand is to empower women and to see women being confident and happy.

What’s been the most surprising thing you’ve learned about this industry since you first started?

I was quite surprised at how fast the industry accepted me. Eighteen-year-old me would not believe where I am today. I always focus on putting out good work, and I believe in myself and I’m just like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m going to make these amazing pieces, high quality, super chic, relevant, sustainable,’ all those kinds of things. But I didn’t realize we would get on New York Fashion Week so fast; that we’d do a runway show so fast; that we’d open a store so fast.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing young designers today?

Navigating wholesale is a very tricky and challenging thing for a young designer. I do think that every young designer should have some sort of direct-to-consumer business. Just build it out, and see where it goes.

How do you know when you’re ready for wholesale? 

I now know a lot of things that I didn’t know at the time Net-a-Porter first picked me up. If I’m being completely honest, I was a little bit delulu. I was like, ‘I want to be on Net-a-Porter. I’m going to make a million dollars in my first year. I’m going to be in every single store.’ It was just the drive to want to be there, and then when they picked it up, I did whatever I could. I did whatever I had to do to be ready for it. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I was ready then. But maybe you don’t have to be ready. You just have to take responsibility and accountability to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

What’s making you most excited about fashion right now?

I’m most excited that people are very interested in putting their spend in up-and-coming, young designers. […] I also think that people are finding their own voice in what they want to wear and not what they think they’re supposed to wear. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow a similar career path as you?

First of all, everyone needs to acknowledge that talent is overrated. It’s really to survive and to grow a legitimate business. It’s just pure perseverance and grit, and you have to keep going and going and going. People are going to metaphorically slap you and burn you down. You just have to literally keep standing, like a cockroach that cannot die.

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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Source: Fashionista.com