Positivity and love weaved into the very fabric of each shirt: Can clothes promote self-love?
Designer Andre Yabin sees clothing as more than something to protect the wearer from the elements. He believes his designs should help the wearer build emotional armor, empower their self-confidence and grant them the power to love and be loved in return.
Yabin’s evolving design ideology is framed by personal circumstances and the great emotional scar inflicted on everyone through the ongoing pandemic. In the US it is estimated that 16 million adults (7% of the population) have had at least one major depressive episode in a given year. This figure is likely compounded by the Covid Crisis and the acute isolation it has wrought on so many. Yabin himself embraced personal affirmations to deal with declining mental health during the last year. Issues with self-esteem and self-doubt are the endemic negative beliefs that stalk us all at some point. For too many people, the path spirals into a depressive abyss that is hard to crawl out of. While clothing is often dismissed as frivolous or inconsequential, to some, a nice pair of shoes or a bold colored dress can help keep the demons at bay and set the wearer back on the path to emotional equilibrium.
Inspired by nature and humanity, Yabin’s latest collection, the 2nd Edition of the LOVE Shirt Dress, “Love Yourself” refocuses the attention onto the wearer. He imagines the collection enveloping the wearer in kindness and love. Yabin seeks to grant the wearer the confidence and permission to receive love and to love herself.
Each Love Shirt is designed and made to help the wearer look and feel her most confident. The Love Shirt is an elegant and versatile piece of contemporary fashion for the modern woman who wears her heart on her sleeve (literally). Embroidered hearts are scattered liberally about sleeves while, Yabin has sought out rich colors, drawn from the natural world. The design seeks to soothe the spirit and bring back a sense of remembrance through senses. The oversize shirt dress is available in “petal pink”, “white cloud” and “leaf green”. The shirt dresses are made from 100% mid-weight cotton, with a classic fuse front placket, buttoning up the front with buttons matching each color, and tying at the collar with a statement chiffon bow.
L5 - Petal Pink
L6 - White Clouds
L7 Leaf Green
Self-love affirmations are a vital way to build self-esteem. Across three designs of the new collection, written under the cuff, self-love affirmations, written by Yabin’s own hand. He wants the wearer to be reminded that she is worthy of love.
The word “Love Yourself” is embroidered on the back, ensuring the message of hope is heard by everyone.
Our eco-friendly hang tags are the perfect complement to the Love Shirt Dress. We love mother earth! Our hang tags are made with recycled card paper and printed with soy ink rather than traditional petroleum-based inks.
We encourage the wearer to recycle the hang tags by using them as a book/journal mark.
Yabin's considerate inclusion of two side pockets for the wearers’ convenience mirrors the practical gifts of a thoughtful modern designer.
The sculptural curved hemline on each oversize shirt dress means it can be worn on its own creating a striking, leg-centric dramatic and chic silhouette; or it can just as easily be paired with a jean, a tailored short, a pencil skirt, Louboutin heels or a much-loved pair of converse trainers. Finally, Yabin has embroidered his name on the outside of the cuff, an open affection between the wearer and the designer. The 2nd Edition of the LOVE Shirt Dress collection is a sonnet to the soul.
Each shirt dress is lovingly enveloped in a specially designed moss green box with the name Yabin stamped in gold on the front reflecting the sun’s rays. Tied with a ginger-colored gross grain ribbon, inside each box is a secret love note printed inside on the petal pink interior, connecting with the inner child and helping the wearer to remember who she is.
The 2nd Edition is the latest ready-to-wear fashion from Yabin’s eponymous label, and is available in three colors, in sizes XS through to 2X.
To help set the tone for self-love, Yabin offers a quality time gift set. LOVE, by Yabin. The bundle includes a 13oz fragrant love candle flooding the room with notes of gardenia and leather and an 80-page reflection journal. These gifts are a great way for the Love Shirt wearer to commit to quality time with herself. Lastly, for her enhanced experience, YABIN has composed relaxing piano music accompanied by warm strings and soundscapes that she can easily access through an exclusive QR code link.
Yabin has over 15 years of experience creating breath-taking catwalk couture, stunning bridal gowns and show-stopping cocktail dresses. A much-loved African American designer, Yabin has shown couture collections at New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week and won the FGI Dallas Rising Star award in 2016. His couture creations have been featured in the popular television shows Dallas Housewives and WAG Miami, further establishing Yabin himself as a truly modern designer.
Credits:
Designer Andre Yabin
Photographer: Eric Bosques
Editor: Odis Lewis
Model: Diamond White