This Grandma-Inspired Knitwear Is About To Be Everywhere

We’re still five days away from the Lunar New Year, but from what we’ve seen, brands aren’t waiting until the night of to introduce their LNY-themed products. And one cult-favourite brand in particular is taking the holiday a step further by not just designing an on-theme capsule, but releasing an entire collection — and it’s about to go viral.

This week, YanYan, a Chinese knitwear brand that launched less than a year ago but has already garnered thousands of loyal followers on Instagram and IRL, announced the arrival of its third collection. The 60-piece assortment was inspired by the vibrance of Sham Shui Po, a shopping district in Hong Kong that specializes in arts and crafts, and houses a large elderly population. Designer and co-founder Suzzie Chung was also inspired by “classic Chinese motifs for mystical ‘rainbow clouds’ 彩雲 (pronounced Choi Wun in Cantonese and Cai Yun in Mandarin).” 

"Sham Shui Po is one of the oldest districts in Hong Kong,” Chung’s design partner, former rag & bone Director of Knitwear, Phyllis Chan explains. “It is a diverse neighborhood of street stalls, trim and fabric shops, old people, wet markets, and traditional food shops. Every time we go I feel so inspired and rejuvenated — it has a funny small-town vibe in a big city.”
 
“The grandma clothing stalls and knick-knacks are perfect for our eclectic style,” Chung adds. “In Hong Kong, there are a lot of older ladies who love mixing and matching print/colours/textures — it can be a head to toe floral look in completely different colours and flowers, or just clashing prints all together. But they seem really happy and comfortable in their outfit, and that's a great vibe.” 

Since “grandma style” is what made us fall in love with YanYan in the first place, it’s no wonder that the duo would use Sham Shui Po and its inhabitants as inspiration. “We always start our collections by imagining what we might find in our grandmother’s closets, and how we would reinterpret the idea for ourselves,” says Phyllis. “Mine loved wearing twinsets in floral prints with a little sparkle. Her mismatching prints were so fun and carefree,” Suzzie says of her grandmother. 

“In this collection, we wanted to explore mixing and matching colours and patterns and stripes, and how to create fun twinsets that can match and look eclectic at the same time.” The result? The perfect blend of YanYan’s specialty knits with bold details like neon stitching and piping, and the introduction of space-dyed fabrics taking the shape of button-downs, midi dresses, and skirts. In addition, expect a small selection of handbags, both designed using leftover fabrics from previous seasons as a way to avoid waste and to continue the legacy of the brand’s past collections. 

Ahead, shop our favourites from the 50-piece YanYan collection, available to ship to Canada now on YanYanKnits.com. Prices in USD.