For many, work-life balance is an aspiration. It is a coveted ideal that is sought by many, but truly enjoyed by few. Especially when it comes to pursuing a dream, a certain tenacious relentlessness seems to plague many entrepreneurs. But what if work-life balance wasn’t so much about separating the two, but rather integrating them? The goal has seemingly always been to optimize this balance and to ensure that work life does not bleed into personal life but for one brand, that doesn’t seem to be such a bad idea.
For Hong Kong-based imprint, The World Is Your Oyster, work and life are one and the same. Real life couple and co-founders of the brand, Calvin Chan and Joyce Kun, started the brand together in 2014 and have since used the label as a playground to explore their idea of “soft rebellion.”
With both designers coming from a menswear background, the brand has become a unique space for them to collaborate and to create a dialogue together on a new concept of gender-pushing designs. The two do not consider TWIYO as something so straightforward as simply a fashion label and how could they, when their hearts and souls have been poured so thoroughly into an endeavor they have built together?
“The World Is Your Oyster, for us, is not merely a fashion brand. For the two of us, it's more like a life project,” Calvin aptly describes. “Because when we started this brand, we felt that building a label is similar to growing as a person—it's a journey.”
As the two have grown together as people and as a brand, they’ve established an effortless rhythm that moves in harmony. They remind me of a pair of swallows flying through the air — sometimes in synchronized flight, sometimes in paths that veer off and overlap, but always in tune with the other and always finding their way back together.
They take turns completing each other’s thoughts during the interview, providing further insight into their design process. While reflecting on how Joyce is able to provide him with a more complete perspective on his designs, Calvin adds, “Or perhaps she has a perspective that I haven’t considered—I think that is actually a strength. It's precisely because we can unify two different opinions.”
And this is perhaps what is truly special at the heart of The World Is Your Oyster. Each piece represents a conversation that has happened between two people. The brand is a manifestation of two people who understand one another so deeply that each design becomes a whole from two halves.
As we walked through Calvin and Joyce’s studio, we reflected on the space that they have created together and the designs that are so saturated with meaning and intention. It was through this experience that we were able to truly understand that the world is our oyster.
Watch our Designer Edit video editorial with The World Is Your Oyster above. The brand will be arriving at LANG soon. Stay tuned.