Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/361673
"Chinatown Is the Perfect Place for Me" Kim Pham started her custom-design business in chinatown and still considers it her true hometown. by erica corsano PhotograPhy by bryce VicKmarK Kim Pham in her shop, Kim's Fashion Design, which she says owes its success to the vibrant neighborhood where it began. Long before loft-living execs started occupying one of Boston's most beloved neighborhoods, K im Pham roamed the streets of Chinatown in search of inspiration for her work. The fashion designer left behind a successful sewing business in her native Vietnam (which she f led postwar with 500 other refugees aboard boats disguised as Communist vessels) to join her husband, who was studying in Boston. I n 19 9 0, t he pa ir opened a fa shion bout ique nestled among the bustling streets of Chinatown. Nine years later, it burned to the ground. Devas- t ated, Pha m tur ned to her husba nd, who helped rebuild a proper t y to house his w ife's made -to - order desig n business, K im's Fa shion Desig n. Kimonos fabricated from the finest silks, mandarin- collared jackets, and f lower-embroidered tunics caused a stylish stir in her neighborhood. Popular at f irst a mong loca ls a nd f r iends, t hey later attracted a much wider clientele, with Pham even- t ua lly desig ning for high-prof ile customers like Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchest ra. Her success a llowed her to open a second loca - t ion, in Copley Place. A lt hough she closed her Chinatow n out post in 2 0 0 9, Pha m cont inues to spend time in this vibrant neighborhood, which she credit s w it h inspir ing her now f lour ishing fa shion business. "When I first came here, my English was not very good, and in Chinatown it was easier to communicate. I felt more at home there than anywhere else. When I opened my business in Chinatown, I was creating looks and putting them on mannequins. People would come in off the streets, try them on, and buy them on the spot. It was mostly American tourists—they loved the Asian look. They also loved that I would custom- tailor. No one else was really doing this in the area. It took me seven years to build the business from strangers coming in off the street to regular customers. They would bring me pictures, and I could recreate the looks, adding my own ideas. 74 bostoncommon-magazine.com PEOPLE Native