WHY AMOY NEW YORK IS THE NEXT GENERATION BRAND TO WATCH
Katie Xue and Isabella (Bella) Chan, the founders of Amoy New York, share a story that feels almost destined. Their connection, rooted in their Chinese-American heritage, is woven with near-misses and serendipitous encounters that finally brought them together. Both attended the same school in Shanghai, but at different times, their paths never crossing. Years later, during the COVID pandemic, a mutual friend insisted they meet, convinced they’d click. That friend was right.
Their bond deepened when they realized they had briefly crossed paths at a high school party in New York. On their first real hangout, they scrolled through their shared Instagram connections, stunned by how many mutual friends they had without ever meeting. The international nature of Shanghai had made the world feel small, and their friendship felt like a long-overdue reunion.
The name Amoy New York carries profound meaning for Bella and Katie. It’s a tribute to their dual identities. “Amoy” is the historical name for Xiamen, the island where Bella spent her early childhood and where much of their production now takes place. The name encapsulates their experience of growing up between cultures–blending influences and creating something that speaks to their third-culture identity.
Their journey to fashion wasn’t linear. “When Katie and I met, it was like creative energy instantly started pouring out of us,” Bella recalls. “We were constantly bouncing business ideas off each other and supporting each other’s creative endeavors.”
They experimented with various projects–a podcast, a digital zine, even selling tie-dye shirts–before finding their rhythm in clothing. Living in downtown New York, surrounded by the city’s vibrant fashion scene, they sensed an opportunity. It wasn’t just about making clothes, it was about creating pieces that felt like an extension of who they were and the world they inhabited.
As self-proclaimed shopaholics and downtown girls, they designed the kind of clothes they wanted to wear. “Sustainability was also something on the forefront of our minds,” Katie explains. “We wanted clothes that were sustainable and we could feel good about purchasing, but we didn’t necessarily like the eco-chic ultra-green aesthetic that sustainable brands had come to be identified by.”
Their vision was clear, develop a label that was conscious and stylish, wearable and cool.
New York has been a constant muse in their design process. “We get a lot of inspiration just from observing the people we are around and working with,” Katie shares. Their most recent collection, The Harlow Collection, was inspired by the young working woman navigating the city–someone who balances a day job with the desire to look effortlessly chic, whether on her morning subway ride or at happy hour after work.
For Bella, New York has always been a land of “glamour and fabulousness,” a dream she longed to be part of. But the “it girl” who represented that world often fit a narrow mold, one that lacked diversity. Amoy New York was born to challenge that stereotype. “Living in New York City, this desire to be at the heart of cosmopolitanism and culture was a big motivator for us to start Amoy,” Bella says. “We see this girl in our heads and she’s stylish and independent and she lives in a Tribeca loft. And we want to be her.”
Their personal styles are deeply embedded in the brand’s DNA. Bella gravitates toward a feminine, flirty aesthetic, while Katie is drawn to darker, edgier tones. Their design process reflects this balance. Take the Jane Dress, for example–originally envisioned by Bella in a deadstock red paisley fabric, Katie insisted it should also exist in black. Collaboration is at the heart of their creative process. They start with a shared Pinterest board, design separately, and then come together to refine the collection.
Timelessness is a cornerstone of Amoy New York, deeply tied to their commitment to sustainability. For Katie and Bella, it means creating well-fitting pieces that people will want to wear again and again. “To me, it means this idea of being able to rewear,” Katie explains. “So often fashion is designed with seasonality in mind, and we really wanted to create pieces that people would look into their closet and go, ‘Okay, I can wear this again. It’s easy, and I know it’ll be cute.’”
Sustainability is woven into every step of their production process. They use deadstock fabrics, organic cotton, and recycled polyester made from post-consumer plastic waste. Katie manages sourcing and supply chain logistics, ensuring low-carbon transportation and working with textile suppliers who hold sustainability certifications, like GOTS organic cotton and Tencel.
“It’s no secret trends can go in and out of style in just a matter of months,” Bella says. “So grounding yourself in this business and finding the aspects of timelessness within the process is so important.”
Building Amoy New York hasn’t been without its challenges. Katie doesn’t pinpoint a single hurdle–running a business is a series of obstacles, and their approach has always been to take things one step at a time. When they started, they were college students figuring things out as they went, and that mindset still serves them. For Bella, the current challenge is navigating a sense of paralysis.
“We’ve spent the last three years building this thing, and now, what do we do with it?” Bella reflects. “We’ve been so used to our mobility being about spawning, the act of becoming into fruition. Now that we’ve fruited, what does movement look like? What does our scaling look like? How do we go forward, and what does that even mean?”
Amid the challenges, there have been moments of profound pride. “We got our first office space in June of last year,” Katie recalls. “I made our landlord [and] floormate take a picture of me and Bella holding the keys together when we signed the lease. There are obviously so many great moments, but I think that was one of the times when I got the chance to look around and be like, ‘We actually built something. It’s real. It’s not just this figment of my imagination.’”
For Bella, seeing someone in public wearing their designs for the first time was surreal. “Seeing a stranger make that choice all on their own is affirmation that what you’re putting out may actually be ingested in some organic form,” she says. “It was the first time I felt like what we created with Amoy actually existed outside of this tiny bubble that only included Katie and I.”
When asked who they’d love to see wearing Amoy New York, Katie immediately names Jane Birkin–effortlessly chic and eternally influential, the very inspiration behind one of their pieces. Bella, on the other hand, goes for Bella Hadid–her namesake twin and the ultimate Gen Z icon who embodies the “it girl” archetype that has driven much of their brand vision.
Their biggest lesson in building Amoy New York? Katie’s advice is simple, take it one step at a time. “It’s so easy to get lost in the process of running a business. The final product or destination can feel very far away early on, so breaking it down and recognizing that it’s just a series of steps helps me make it feel more manageable,” she says.
Bella’s advice? Just start. “Draw a logo, make a mood board, see if that Instagram username’s available! As a designer and creator of a brand, you’re a storyteller first and foremost. Focus on creating that story and building your world.”
Amoy New York is more than a brand, it’s a testament to the power of connection, creativity, and cultural identity. It stands as a reminder that timelessness and sustainability can coexist with style and individuality. And that’s why it’s the next generation brand to watch.
