Hanii Y at Maizen Maison

To those who are unaware of the New York fashion scene, Hanii Y may seem as an odd name and unheard of compared to the likes of Rebecca Taylor, Narcisso Rodriguez, Michael Kors and Nanette Lepore.

Conceived by Korean designer Hanii Yoon, who is half of the genius behind Y and Kei fashion label that she created with her husband, the Hanii Y label focuses more on her fascination in vintage fashion.

After being brought up in a traditional Korean family environment, Hanii went to San Francisco to study fashion. While studying and living in San Francisco, Yoon began to embrace the city's Bohemian spirit.

Then, she teamed with her husband to launch the Y and Kei line, a fashion line that according to them as to fulfill the their Buddhist belief in "watering the earth" and nourishing the world with beauty and happiness.

Fusing the Asian philosophy and European edge and sexiness, the line received a cult status among the celebrities like Nicole Richie, Carmen Electra and Britney Spears to name a few. Now, Hanii Yoon has decided to express her personal design philosophy as well as nurturing her love for vintage pieces through setting up her own label called Hanii Y.

What differs Hanii Y from her other label Y and Kei is that Hanii draws on her love of retro designs and she blends the together the aspects of different cultures and era to create a stunning and magnificent effect.

Examples of her profound vintage love can be seen in her creations such as this Isadora lace trim dress. The pintuck detailing on the front as well as the ruffle detailed placket reminds us of the late 70's to mid-80's when such style was coveted by fashion lovers.

Other coveted pieces within the current Spring/Summer collection is white cotton Madeline scoop dress with sequin and satin trim plus short gathered sleeves, silk dot print lace front dress in eggshell with lace front bib and adjustable spaghetti straps, black Cutie sequined bolero with lurex piping and pleated satin trim, honey cropped trench coat with gun flap detailing and silk-cotton blend wrap front skirt with broderie anglaise hem in navy.

Before, to get the Hanii Y ready-to-wear collection means that you have to either fly to New York or Japan, which is nearer or purchase it online at Net-a-Porter.com, but now, thanks to KL's hip multi-brand maison Maizen, you no longer have to embark on a 24-hour flight journey to the Big Apple.

Hanii Y Spring/Summer 2007 ready-to-wear collection is available at Maizen Maison starting this month onwards.

*Photos courtesy of Elle.com and Net-a-Porter.com

Maizen Maison - 112, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.