10 Questions With Sandy Liang

The designer chats about her Gap collaboration, Sanrio characters, and Y2K nostalgia.

No one mines their childhood quite like Sandy Liang. Beloved for her ability to incorporate everything from Polly Pocket to Sailor Moon to Sanrio to her upbringing in New York City’s Chinatown, she celebrates girlhood in all its forms. It’s fitting then, that today the designer announced a capsule collection with a brand that’s synonymous with her formative years: Gap. Consisting of both women’s pieces as well as kid’s clothing (Liang did have a baby back in 2023!), it’s the best of both worlds. You’ll find reimagined nostalgic favorites like the iconic Gap logo sweatshirt which now reads “Sandy” to renditions of her signature styles like cozy fleeces, a whimsical Mary Jane sweater, and Peter Pan collar blouses. 

To accompany the launch, which goes on sale this Friday, there’s a short film. Titled “Sandy’s Dream Closet” and featuring animations by Annie Choi, it traces a young Sandy as she imagines the future. Set above her father’s Chinatown restaurant, Congee Village, the collection springs to life and represents a dream made into reality.

We caught up with Liang to chat about her favorite dish to order at her dad’s restaurant, nostalgic Gap memories, and what the soundtrack to this collection would be.

1. What was the inspiration for your collaboration?

This was based on childhood memories of walking into the Gap. Some of my favorite times were back-to-school shopping in August, when my mom would let me get a whole new closet from there before classes started. That was the only time when I was allowed to buy full-priced clothing.

2. What did you want to partner with Gap?

When this opportunity came up, it was a full circle moment. This brand inspired so much about what I loved about fashion and style as a child. That informs who I am now and it’s a dream come true.

3. What was your favorite Gap piece growing up?

There were these messenger bags, back when messenger bags were all the rage. I was so excited to put my supplies into mine and show up to class the next day with my fresh backpack. I was the only one in my class to have it but it was pretty iconic at my school. I knew who had one and in what color.

4. What are some of your favorite pieces in the collection and why?

I have so many! Some of the pieces that stand out include the sweater with our iconic Mary Jane on it, it’s actually a rerun of a style we’ve made before but we Gap-ified it with gathers at the sleeve and a shrunken fit. I also love the jeans  I’m wearing right now and they’re the perfect wash with a nice carpenter fit. We added a bow detail in the back and fun star grommets throughout. 

We made a t-shirt and I joke that my husband has to wear it all the time because it has my name on it. It’s inspired by our fall 2024 collection which had baby sweaters on big sweaters. For the tee we have miniature gap hoodies printed on the chest. And there’s also a Sandy hoodie — it’s so conceited but if you’re doing a collab with Gap, wouldn’t you want your name on a hoodie? But my all time favorite is this baby set that says baby on the chest and bum. This will be tattooed on Rainier’s body.

5. What about the outerwear in the collection?

This trench is easy but it has our bow detail at the back. My fantasy for this is just someone running around, doing their errands and having a giant bow trailing behind her. We also made a version of the quarter zip pullover in a Bambi print and there’s a matching baby one too. And finally we have a reversible shearling coat based off my Ines coat which was one of my earliest designs.

6. Music plays a huge role in your collections. If this collaboration could have a theme song, what would it be?

I picked up driving recently so I’ve been listening to music then. For some reason whenever I play Charli XCX’s Brat, I feel good and confident about myself while on the road. So I’d say this collection is Brat.

7. Favorite way to unwind for the night now that you have a small child?

I’m watching TV in bed! Currently it’s Platonic and The Great British Bake-Off.

8. Favorite dish to order at your family’s restaurant?

This is so boring and lame but it’s the broccoli and seaweed soup because I love broccoli. I’ll eat it over rice and it’s so nice.

9. Favorite Sanrio character?

I don’t know! I love Pochacco and Hello Kitty equally.

10. What’s the story behind the pink mahjong table on your Instagram that everyone freaked out over?

I was really excited to have my family over to my new house but I knew I needed something to entice them so I asked my Gen Z cousin to help me find a pink mahjong table. She sent me a TikTok link and in the next 48 hours we had it in our hands via a WeChat distributor. It even automatically shuffles!