YVMIN Turned Prosthetics Into Wearable Art
Photo: Courtesy of YVMIN
Xiao Yang, a Chinese influencer and model based in Chengdu, has been wearing a prosthetic leg for almost 20 years. Though she says it’s now very much a part of her body, Yang’s prosthesis has caused her to have a challenging relationship with fashion and dressing up. “In high school, when I was very eager to dress up, I thought that the prosthetic limbs affected my external beauty,” she tells Vogue. “Wearing a prosthesis also caused one side of my buttocks to be deformed. I [still] feel unsafe if I wear tight pants or tops that are shorter than the buttocks—like [I’m] being exposed. I wore T-shirts and straight pants for a long time.”
Recently, however, Yang began experimenting more with her fashion choices and increasingly found herself wanting her prosthetic to reflect her sleek, modern style (she has a closet full of cool graphic tees and statement blazers, by the way). Cut to earlier this year in Chengdu, when she met Xiaoyu Zhang and Min Li—the two designers behind the Chinese jewelry brand YVMIN—and the three of them came up with an idea: What if we treat prosthetics like wearable art?
“We think it is only natural to decorate any part of our body, prosthetic as well,” says Zhang. Yang was instantly on board with the concept, which involved turning her prosthetic limb into a bold statement accessory of sorts. “This project tells everyone that wearing a prosthesis is a fact that cannot be changed—but wearing a prosthesis that looks gorgeous is also achievable,” Yang says. “This feeling is super cool; there will definitely be more people who need to experience it.” The result? Three different decorative shells that can be worn over Yang’s prosthetic leg, with sweet details like a heart-shaped “knee cap.”
Typically, YVMIN creates delicate, feminine jewelry, such as bowed earrings and heart-shaped pendant necklaces. But the design duo saw an opportunity to challenge themselves by working with Yang to create something entirely new. “When we saw Xiao sharing her OOTD photos on social media with her strong personal style, we thought it would be a good opportunity,” says Zhang. “We decided to only make the shell for the prosthesis, which avoids many technical problems, and can also make many pieces at the same time for Xiao to wear on different occasions,” says Zhang.
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