From living the traditional corporate lifestyle of a financial regulator to debuting in the fashion industry in Miami, Emma Minhui Ye is making sportswear more age-inclusive to reflect the active lifestyle and vibrant nature of young people through her company, Flipped Lab.
Although one of the key diversity gaps brought to the limelight has been centered around the lack of size and racial inclusiveness as well as an unconscious bias towards using mainly young faces to represent fashion brands, the sportswear sector hasn’t fully captured the bold personality of youths across the globe. To help solve this problem, Flipped Lab has partnered with a well-known Japanese 3D pattern making company to enable the most comfortable fit for customers, accommodating a more inclusive approach.
Reflecting on the gaps in the sports apparel industry, Emma Minhui Ye, the Founder, and CEO of Flipped Lab said “I carried out research on young people, not necessarily categorized by their biological age, but people who have a younger carefree lifestyle. My findings showed me they like wearing a variety of different styles, so I felt there was a big untapped market there. While I shopped for sportswear, I noticed that there were lots of limitations in the color ranges, the patterns and styles and that Gen Z viewed sports more as social self-care activities rather than just a competitive activity, so they tend to want to wear more glamorous outfits to the gym and sporting events. I decided to fill this gap in the market by creating a range of clothing that would suit these needs that they were so desperately looking for.”
The activewear brand, Flipped Lab was birthed, in tandem with Emma’s pursuit of an MBA degree from Yale University in 2018. Drawing from her wealth of experience in a high-paying career in the finance industry, working in the Stock Exchange reviewing the listing documents submitted by investment banks, and in the fashion sector, where she worked for a fashion startup in Miami helping with fundraising and strategy development, she is keen on making an impact with her apparel brand.
“While I was at Yale, I explored different opportunities, which gave me the chance to work in the fashion and retail industry. It also connected to my finance background because a lot of it has to do with fundraising and communicating with investors, which has been helpful for me at Flipped Lab. We managed to close two rounds of funding since our launch,” stated Emma Minhui Ye.
Flipped Lab is breaking these boundaries with its plans to produce a collection of high-quality apparel that completely reflects the younger demographic with 3D patterns for a seamless and comfortable fit. They get inspiration from sports activities and street dance that influence the culture of their target audience. Their fashion pieces like tops, shorts, and swimsuits, amongst others, can be worn for every kind of sports and active hobby.
Commenting on this, Emma Minhui Ye, said, “Fashion is a beautiful medium where people can express their uniqueness and personality. I am proud of our upcoming collection and I look forward to seeing young people across the globe gain easy access to clothing that reflects their unique personalities. I want people to be able to fully express themselves with our collection of sportswear.”