CODA Co-founders Kevin Wong and Yankee Leung first met in university, where they were roommates and then became fast friends. They hit it off immediately, bonding over shared interests such as ‘90s subcultures, music genres such as shoegaze and ship-hop and, of course, fashion and design. After years of friendship and many like-minded conversations, they finally launched CODA together in 2019.
The brand’s philosophy is centered on the musical term coda, which signifies the final syllable before the end of a musical piece, adding an extra note to create a more harmonious conclusion to the entire composition. In the co-founders’ own words, the concept starts from “a perspective of conflicting aesthetics – CODA explores the relationship between the past and the present, refinement and chaos, deconstruction and construction. Starting from three concepts: Hybrid, Deconstruction, and Aging, CODA changes the structure of existing garments, and presents them in a new form to bring out the brand’s conflicting aesthetics while ensuring wearability.”
As we visited Kevin and Yankee in their Kwai Chung studio in Hong Kong, we learned more about the duo’s design process and the overall spirit of CODA that drives the brand forward. As Kevin explains, “If you look at our pieces, a lot of them are inspired by classic or basic styles. Then we take these styles and modify them with our own aesthetics and add our own logical details. But we will never force any details.” Because at the end of the day, wearability and functionality anchor each of CODA’s collections.
“With every article of clothing, when the customer buys it, we want them to be able to very easily add it into their existing wardrobe. By mixing and matching pieces, they can then achieve their own unique style,” Kevin continues.
Along the same vein, Yankee explains how their clothes are designed for real life. “Because we live in Hong Kong and the vibe here is a little more chaotic and has a mix of both traditional and modern influences, it greatly affects the way that we approach creativity and the way that we design,” Yankee adds. “And with the clothes that we make, we definitely lean towards daily wear and clothes made for real life.” This is, of course, a philosophy that resonates with LANG – ultimately, we see style as a celebration of the individual and the clothes that we offer are simply a means to expression.
When we first discovered CODA, we were immediately drawn to their silhouettes and the quality of their fabrics. We loved how the oversized pieces would drape on the body and float with every movement. The distressed elements that are part of the brand’s signature style were quick to draw our eyes to the meticulous details added to every item – from “unfinished” hems to strategically placed perforations in the fabric. Despite the brand’s unmistakable identity, we could very easily see its pieces integrated into our own wardrobes.
CODA’s dedication to craftsmanship and detail also undeniably stood out for us. For the LANG team, visiting a designer’s studio is always a very tactile experience – feeling all the textures and finishes of the fabrics, trying on pieces and getting a sense of how it fits on the body. CODA’s garments, in particular, drew us in immediately because it was apparent from the very first encounter that the fabrics were special.
We were excited to bring these collections to our customers, to share the CODA experience with our community – not just because of the high-end hand feel of every piece, but because we so admired the cohesive vision of Yankee and Kevin. At its core, both co-founders appreciate the importance of personal style and the role that garments play in the articulation of that philosophy: a unification of design, identity and quality.
Watch our Designer Edit interview editorial with CODA above and head over to the LANG online store to shop the latest collection.