GRACE GUI - WHERE HEIRLOOM CRAFTMANSHIP MEETS MODERN LUXURY

Rooted in Brooklyn, GRACE GUI is more than a knitwear label, it’s a personal journey of identity, craft, and belonging. Launched in 2023 by designer Grace Wang, the project reimagines heritage through the lens of introspection and slow craftsmanship. Grace’s work is both a tribute and a reconciliation, weaving together her Chinese heritage with the Americana influences she grew up surrounded by in New Jersey.

“For a long time, I felt caught between two worlds,”

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

Each piece is meticulously hand-crafted in Grace’s Bushwick studio, where the process is as important as the outcome. She raises silkworms, tends to her angora rabbit, and sources fibers from neighbors in New Jersey. Natural dyeing, sericulture, and zero-waste production practices form the backbone of her brand. “I wanted to be fully accountable for my materials,” Grace explains. “By growing, raising, and sourcing locally, I know exactly where every thread comes from. There’s something grounding about that, it connects me back to both community and environment.”

“America shaped the place I grew up in, but my Chinese heritage was always at the core of who I am. GRACE GUI became a way of stitching those dualities together, turning something that once felt conflicting into something whole.”

BROOKLYN FARM TO FASHION BASED KNITWEAR PROJECT

The challenges of building a farm-to-fashion practice in New York City have been immense. Grace developed her own patented felting techniques to transform raw fibers into sculptural, architectural garments that still retain an organic softness. But this innovation came after many trials. “There were moments where I wondered if it was too much, too ambitious to raise silkworms in Brooklyn or experiment with dyes made from plants in my own kitchen,” she admits. “But I realized the challenge was part of the practice. It forces me to slow down, to listen to the materials, and to respect the process.”

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“There were moments where I wondered if it was too much, too ambitious to raise silkworms in Brooklyn or experiment with dyes made from plants in my own kitchen,”

HERITAGE AS A STRONG SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

At its heart, GRACE GUI is a living narrative of diasporic exploration. The brand’s collections reflect fluid identity—rooted in heritage but always evolving. Grace sees her work as a way of honoring both past and present, while shaping a sustainable future. “Fashion, to me, isn’t just about clothing, it’s about storytelling. Each piece carries the weight of memory, place, and care. When someone wears my work, I hope they feel not just dressed, but connected to something larger, a story that continues with them.”

“Fashion, to me, isn’t just about clothing, it’s about storytelling. Each piece carries the weight of memory, place, and care. When someone wears my work, I hope they feel not just dressed, but connected to something larger, a story that continues with them.”

ALWAYS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

We had the chance to visit Grace in her Bushwick studio in 2023, just ahead of her NYFW debut. She walked us through her new collection and her process with a quiet confidence, explaining that her aim was never to follow the expectations of others, but to create pieces that felt deeply authentic to her. Each garment was naturally dyed, layered with memory. Grace shared an anecdote from her childhood in New Jersey—how her grandmother once raised silk cocoons, taking her to Costco and then gathering mulberry leaves from nearby trees to feed the silkworms until they spun themselves into tiny cocoons. Her grandmother even used them in beauty rituals, pressing silk threads to her face. This memory became a touchstone in Grace’s practice, inspiring her to raise silkworms herself and weave them into her work. The collection drew heavily on her upbringing around farmland in New Jersey, blending those roots with her cultural identity while challenging the narrow ways the internet often perceives Chinese Americans. What emerged was a body of work both intimate and radical—knitwear that resists stereotypes and speaks instead to Grace’s own story of belonging.

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