Born in South Korea, Yoon Ahn was raised in an American military family that moved around quite often from base to base, going through California and Hawaii and finally settling in the suburbs of Seattle in the eighties; yes, Yoon’s forty two years old, even though she doesn’t look like it. The city, other than being known for Starbucks and Kurt Cobain, is also renowned for its heavy rains and lack of sun (now it makes total sense that grunge was born there), and, for that reason, as a teenager Yoon dreamed of moving to cities like New York or London that, even though they’re not known for being sunny, they’re popular in the world of fashion, which is something she’s always been interested in.
YOON AHN, THE WOMAN BEHIND AMBUSH
Yoon Ahn’s name might not sound familiar to many, but the woman who’s also known as Yoon AMBUSH is behind the Japanese brand whose Nike drop has been one of the biggest collaborations of the past year. She’s also the jewellery director for Dior Men, personally chosen by Kim Jones, and yet little is known about the head of one of the most important streetwear brands of the moment, who has been able to make a name for herself in this industry, against all odds.
However, she ended up moving to Boston, where she studied a much less risky career, graphic design, because even though she had been accepted to New York University, she knew that in the big apple she would be up to anything and everything except studying. Fortunately, this would end up being one of the best decisions she’d ever make in her life. Once she got there, she randomly decided to go to church one day, and there she met her future husband, Ryu Young Ki, a guy with a Korean background, who had spent his childhood in Japan and his teenage years in The States. After graduating, the two decided to embark in an adventure by moving together to Tokyo, a city she had never been in. Ryu would end up becoming the rapper Verbal, part of the Teriyaki Boyz collective with Nigo, who would be the future creative director of the streetwear brand A Bathing Ape.
It was the Y2Ks and Tokyo was in fashion. By then interns at Fendi, Kanye West and Virgil Abloh frequently visited the city to find inspiration with the help of Kim Jones, consultant of the legendary line Pastelle, founded by Kanye, that died by the mid-2000s to later reversion itself and become Yeezy, now without the help of Kim. Due to a string of coincidences, they all met each other one day at the backstage of a Teriyaki Boyz concert where Verbal’s rings that read ‘POW!’, inspired by the artist Roy Lichtenstein and designed by his wife, caught their attention. Apparently, Yoon created jewels that she wasn’t able to find elsewhere. The three of them went wild for her designs, and through word of mouth, Yoon, with the help of her husband, started making unique designs for other rappers of the moment. And that’s how she would end up creating AMBUSH in 2008, whose brand philosoph is to catch people ‘by surprise’ with their designs. And then it started to grow, until they created their now iconic wire rings, padlock earrings and lighter necklaces.
And it just kept growing. In 2016 they collaborated with cult brand Sacai, in 2017 with the streetwear line Undercover, and they launched their fashion line on top of being nominated for an LVMH prize. And yet 2018 has been their best year by far. Yoon was assigned jewellery director for Dior Men by Kim Jones himself, and AMBUSH collaborated with brands like Beats, N*E*R*D and Amazon, but their year culminated with Nike. It has been one of the most hyped drops of the year, and it sold out immediately. Now, some of the items resell for double the original price. And that’s because Yoon has been able to create a unique brand that blends different cultures, like West Coast hip hop, Seattle’s grunge, and an infinite remix of Tokyoite subcultures, and styles like streetwear which she has elevated to luxury. Even though Yoon used to feel like she didn’t belong anywhere she has been able to make a place for herself in the fashion industry.
