As we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Lunar New Year and the vibrant energy of the Year of the Dragon, LVRMagazine is thrilled to collaborate once again with an array of esteemed international talents. Join us on a journey steeped in tradition, as we delve into captivating narratives, explore their international customs, and unveil fresh perspectives on fashion. Prepare to be inspired as we usher in the spirit of renewal and celebration, igniting the flames of creativity and style in the dawn of this auspicious year.
MOLLY CHIANG
@molly_chiang
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
Due to work, I spend less time with my family. so I usually take advantage of the Lunar New Year to reunite with my family, and in the meanwhile,have a good rest.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
The first day of the new year is a symbol of a new beginning. I usually go to the temple to pray for an amulet for safety and health, and I will always keep it in my wallet.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
This year is the year of the dragon, the dragon itself brings us power and boldness. Maybe because my personality and characteristics are consistent with it, I will not particularly express the spirit of the year of the dragon in my outfits.
But there is one thing that I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the courage to do: do the hair colour. I have never dyed my hair, and have always maintained it black. I hope with the power of the year of the dragon, I can get up the courage to try dyeing my hair!
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
My work and my personal life have always been inseparable, I just keep dashing forward. The goal that I set for myself for this year is to spend more time alone with myself in the midst of my busy life, and try to slow down to find a balance between work and life.
Slow down
to find a balance between work and life.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
A new year’s tradition that I have kept since I was a child is to visit the Keelung MiaoKou Night Market with my family during the lunar new year. Although it sounds like an ordinary thing, for me it’s a profound memory between me and my family.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
Lunar New Year signifies reunion and gratitude for me, values I bring into my work. My work team holds great importance, and achieving tasks together holds special meaning.
DECLAN CHAN
@declanchan
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
I will be having a lot of Chinese New Year. Dinners with friends in London. It will be a Chinese food fest.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
I love red-colored clothes, it lifts my spirit and you also look more sharp when you are wearing red. Also it’s a festive color that goes beyond Lunar New Year, you can wear it on other celebration occasions.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
To me, the dragon is majestic and inherently fearless, symbolizing something god-like. I aspire to exude the same confidence as a dragon. A new trend emerging is the incorporation of gold accessories into one’s outfit, reminiscent of the scales of a dragon.
To me, the dragon is majestic
and inherently fearless.
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
I hope I can do better and set more personal challenges this year as I just celebrated my 40th birthday last year. So this year is a new chapter for me for the new decade.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
I have a lot of Chinese new year dinners planned in london. For me it’s just a big feast.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
Wear more red, be bold, be happy.
YOYO CAO
@yoyokulala
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
I am spending time with my loved ones and we will be having our reunion meals together.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
While I don’t have specific personal lucky symbols, I believe that hard work and a positive mindset contributes to success, much like the symbolism of bamboo in Asian culture.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
I’m inspired by the dragon’s strength and boldness, and I plan to bring those qualities into my work by tackling challenges head-on and taking calculated risks. In terms of style, I’ve always been exploring bold color choices and innovative designs, staying open to emerging trends while maintaining a strong and confident approach.
I believe that hard work and a positive mindset
contributes to success.
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
During the Lunar New Year, I reflect on the past year, assess achievements, and set specific and realistic goals for personal development, relationships, and well-being. This process ensures my goals align with my values, and I remain open-minded, adapting to unexpected opportunities and challenges.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
We don’t have a particular tradition; instead, our emphasis is on simply spending quality time together.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
I do infuse my cultural heritage into my professional and personal life, fostering inclusivity and expressing my identity through diverse perspectives, clothing, symbols, and forms of self-expression like art and celebrations.
VANESSA HONG
@vanessahong
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
I’m going to a couple of really big parties thrown by very close friends, and my younger sibling is flying in on LNY eve, which I’m most excited about! Lots of eating, laughing, and maybe even some fortune telling. Oh! And of course I will go to a temple and bring offerings 
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you
My lucky number has always been six (any round number) and my lucnoky Chinese symbols are dragon, monkey, and ox – so I will try to include these animals into accessories or trinkets.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
I think I will lean more into luxury this year – doing stealth wealth but in a cool way. I feel dragons are not afraid to be the center of attention, so I’ll definitely mix more statement pieces and textures into every outfit. This is also the year of the ‘Blue Dragon’, so it’ll be lucky to wear different blues every day.
I express gratitude for the abundance in my life
– a sentiment I find particularly important during this time of year
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
Firstly, I express gratitude for the abundance in my life – a sentiment I find particularly important during this time of year. When setting goals, I typically begin by asking myself, “What do I want to achieve this year?” Once I’ve determined the “what,” I proceed to plan and establish the goals necessary to attain it.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
This year I’ll be attending a big party thrown by my friend and mentor Phillip Lim. Everyone in NYC will be at this party so it’s very exciting. My sibling will be flying in to see me and we will spend LNY week together. When I was growing up, we typically went to my grandfather’s home and had all these amazing homemade dishes (always 8!). One of my favorite things ever since I was a child is Nian Gao – I like to eat this every year as a snack. I will also buy mooncakes for friends and send them as gifts. LNY is all about sharing one’s wealth and resources!
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
I like to share what I do for LNY in my socials, take friends out for dinner, and definitely dress up and enjoy the positive incoming New Year energy!
SEUNGJU HAN
@seungjuuuuuuu
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
There is a strong possibility that I’ll be in Germany this Lunar New Year. Over the past several years, I have consistently been abroad during the Lunar New Year, mainly for fashion week and business trips. This time is no exception. It’s unfortunate, but I will be celebrating the New Year with new friends in Germany.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
The color blue, to me, is associated with the belief that everything will become easier when I see it.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
As the years pass, there are occasions when I feel apprehensive and less enthusiastic about new experiences. However, I would like to create more bold and dynamic content this year as a symbol of the new year, the dragon.
…the belief that everything will become easier
when I see it.
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
As the new year approaches, I consistently set new goals for myself, and a majority of them are quantifiable with specific numerical targets. Whether it’s aiming for 1 million YouTube subscribers or establishing financial milestones, I find satisfaction in setting goals that can be measured and tracked.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
My family doesn’t have any particular family traditions, but we always get together for the holidays. Since we don’t see each other often, this year I will visit them often, not just for the holidays.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
This question is… so difficult, skip
JENNY TSANG
@tsangtastic
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
My boyfriend and I will be heading back to our parent’s hometown as a family tradition. It’s a tradition for us to celebrate LNY together with our families, just like Thanksgiving in the US.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
Dolphins. Any dolphin symbol will light up my day and I just loved dolphins so much since I was a kid. To me, they represent freedom and togetherness.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
My style has always been minimal and surrounds a palette of earth tones. This year I would love to step out of my comfort zone and insert bolder colors into my wardrobe, for example, a deep shade of red to contrast/compliment my daily looks.
This year I would love to step out of my comfort zone
and insert bolder colors into my wardrobe.
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
Work, life balance! To start off the year with this intention, my boyfriend and I took a month off away from work to go snowboarding. I would also love to have more fun and get together with friends more often. As content creators, oftentimes friends/family would think that we have a lot of free time and we travel for fun, however, it’s the complete opposite. We work a lot, even during our free time – it’s always about producing real-life content that’s relatable.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
We would have a big family get-together, and most importantly get all the red pockets from aunts and uncles! And usually during these get-togethers, all my aunts from my mom’s side will play mahjong at my parent’s house.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
I love sending personalized gifts to my working partners and spreading the joy and happiness of LNY! Usually, these personalized gifts consist of an item of the zodiac animal that year, it’s the best way to wish others good fortune and good health for the new year.
YUWEI ZHANGZOU
@yuyuzhangzou
How do you plan to celebrate this Lunar New Year?
I am going to stay with my family, maybe go to Xiamen, to enjoy some warm weather and city walks.
Bamboo, a symbol of luck and prosperity, is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Do you happen to have your own personal lucky symbols, colors, or other attributes that hold special significance to you?
I’m not someone who has deep trust in particular symbols or colors for luck, but for me, sunshine can heal everything and make everything better.
The dragon, representing strength and boldness, is the symbol of this Lunar New Year. How do you plan to embrace those characteristics in your style? Do you have any bold, new trends you’ve been a fan of?
I am actually a dragon girl, and now I’m planning my New Year post to include my resolutions: to be more brave, loyal to myself, and bolder as well. In 2024, I want to try more new things, do things I’ve never tried before, and visit more destinations on my bucket list. As for new trends, I want more diversity in my styling and daily life. My style is pretty simple, but I will probably try some new styles.
Be more brave,
loyal to myself, and bolder.
As the Lunar New Year marks a time for reflection and new resolutions, how do you set personal intentions or goals for the coming year?
As per the response to question 3.
This celebration often involves festive gatherings. Do you have family traditions, or how will you be celebrating this year?
Our family’s tradition is more about being together. I think this is the most important time of the year when you can give yourself full time for your family. We are so busy, even during vacations, we still have some jobs to do. But during the Chinese New Year, we can always be together through the phone, giving myself and my family more time. Also, I have a dog, so for me, it’s a perfect time to spend my whole day and almost 7 days with him every day. It’s a very important time for us to stay together. Family gives you strength.
As the holiday is steeped in rich cultural traditions, how do you intentionally incorporate and celebrate your own heritage in your profession, personal style, and self-expression?
Every year, we take Chinese New Year photos. There was one year when we talked about the traditional activities during Chinese New Year, such as making dumplings, hanging Chunlian, and grandparents giving red packets to young children. We try to express these in photos. There was also a year when we shot our Chinese New Year photo with all those traditional red elements and, of course, wearing special Chinese New Year clothing. For me, it’s a lot of fun mixing tradition and fashion together.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO MOLLY CHIANG, DECLAN CHAN,YOYO CAO,VANESSA HONG,SEUNGJU HAN AND YUWEI ZHANGZOU
