Claudia Li’s collection of hand-embroidered organza detailing and 3D flower dresses was noteworthy – as was her casting. Each of the designer’s 35 runway looks was worn on the runway by a model of Asian origin – which is still a minority in the modeling world and as such adds to the conversation around representation during the week.

For Li, this decision is about more than just checking off the ‘diversity’ box. It stems from an authentic desire to celebrate Asian beauty. The Chinese-born, New Zealand-raised designer made the deliberate decision to cast Asian models – from Chinese to Nepalese –  as a way embody the highly personal collection inspired by her upbringing.

Li’s goal is to expand the portrayal and representation of Asian identity. We sat down with her to hear why this show was so important to her, and how she plans to create a more inclusive future through her designs.

How do you feel after presenting your first runway show at NYFW?

I feel great. I’m happy that the fashion press was able to see my clothing in motion on the runway, and I think it was a strong step up from a static presentation. Now that it’s been a few days, the gravity of what we accomplished with the casting has really started to sink in. We thought that what we were doing was appropriate for the collection and for the current social climate, but we really didn’t expect the level of global reaction that we’ve been receiving for using exclusively Asian women to showcase the spring collection. The enthusiasm and support has been incredible.

How did the idea for an all Asian-American casting originate? 

Too often, castings that focus on diversity tend to be a stunt or a one-time thing.  The casting this season was actually the last element that came into place, and it completely changed four days before our show. The collection and show were based around the idea of revealing more of my personality to the audience and to the world. It started with the fabrics and clothing, continued with a letter I wrote to the audience to kick off the show, extended to the music we were developing, and was carried through to the styling. Once we understood how deeply personal the show would become, our casting director, Edward Kim, suggested that we cast girls like me; faces like mine that reflect how I grew up. I immediately knew it was the right approach.

Why was it important to reflect many different types of Asian Americans? 

Because there is so much diversity in Asia itself! One of the most frustrating things that Asian women face is that when you say “Asian model” to someone in the fashion industry, they often have a single-note idea of what that looks like. It was important if we were doing this, to show a broad swatch of genuine diversity of Asian identity in the show – and we ended up casting models who were Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Filipino, mixed race, and more. The point was not for the look to be single-note; the point was to show a broad vision of Asian femininity. That said, the girls in our show were selected first and foremost for their individual characteristics and how they worked with the looks, but our guiding principal overall was to reflect a more inclusive vision as we were making those choices.

What do you hope to accomplish with this show and your overall brand messaging? 

What I hope I accomplished was widening the expected vision of Asian style and beauty within a runway show. It’s not enough to have two Asian girls in a 35-look show and think you’re doing something to challenge people’s prejudices or that you’re creating a more inclusive vision of beauty. You’re not, and you’re actually tokenizing women. So that said, for the show, the takeaway is the breadth of Asian beauty.

For my brand messaging, where the casting syncs up in the overall picture is that I am trying to get my brand to reflect more of me, more of my opinions, more of my personality. When I entered the fashion industry, I ended up actually behaving more timidly than I have in my whole life. I developed a design language, but the way we communicated it to the world was very controlled, edited, static, and almost lived in a very precious snow globe.  Starting this season, we’re doing runway shows, we’ve got our girls walking to hip hop, we’re using riffs of Destiny’s Child in the opening, and you’re seeing color and motion in a way that reflects the type of person that I am. Stay tuned!