Emerging Brand Sets Out to Bridge the Gap Between East and West

Bobblehaus redefines the fashion space and launches a collection mid pandemic.

“When I came to New York, I realized, ‘Oh so this is what being Asian-American tastes like.’ I loved it,” co-founder of Bobblehaus Ophelia Chen says. “Through the birth of Bobblehaus is where I fully grasped my voice.”

It’s a Thursday afternoon and we’re both sitting in our respective homes some 1000 miles apart. Chen locked herself in her bathroom for some privacy; having been quarantined in her New York City apartment since February, she’s a pro at these Zoom meetings. I, on the other hand, have just arrived back at my childhood home in Michigan and I’m balancing my computer on the living room couch while my dog paces nervously in the background.

Chen is explaining how she only just committed to her vision for Bobblehaus, a New York designed, Shanghai made brand, full time in April 2019. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis back in 2017, she began her career at Bloomingdale’s as an assistant buyer. Two short years later, she realized she had a bigger vision. In her words, “there is so much that I want to do within industry that has so much that needs to be changed.” Chen quit her job on a Friday afternoon and was in Shanghai sourcing manufacturers by Sunday.

“Recently, a lot of fashion brands are turning into communities and I love that,” Chen said. “What you wear represents what kind of groups you feel belonged to or what you believe in and I want to create a community like that.”

Bobblehaus was created as a community-based retail space that aimed to bridge the East and West. Its platform entitled “BobbleBlogs” unpacks the cultural differences in these spaces through pieces written by and for the Asian community. Her contributors hail from London to Amsterdam to Singapore to Jakarta, but all share the common experience of having grown up with a Western education system while living in an Eastern culture.

“A big part of my identity and my co-founder's identity is that we are both Asian-American,” Chen said. “But we didn't fully grasp what that meant until we both moved to New York three years ago. That's when we realized that representation really matters. Your surroundings really matters.”

Chen, who was born in Shanghai, moved to rural Missouri with her family at age 13.

“That multi-cultural background and upbringing really planted a root within me, I think,” Chen said. “That's what I wanted to bring to the table and that's a space that I want to create. An inclusive, inspiring, multicultural space for the young Asian descents.”

Bobblehaus launched its first collection at the beginning of May, after COVID-19 numbers had spiked in the United States. According to Chen, the decision to launch online was made after lengthy conversations with the team about health and safety but, ultimately, like many small businesses during this time, they had to persevere.

“At the end we decided to do it because we have to move ahead,” Chen said. “As a small business, we have to introduce ourselves. how we survive this, how we move past this is only going to be the first try. There are going to be seconds, there are going to be thirds. It's almost that it's a reality that we have to get used to and adapt to.”

10 percent of their pre-order sale proceeds went to a COVID relief fund, not due to an abundance of money but because Chen strongly believes that donating or giving back should be a habit.

“We want to help our customer and our community learn that donating is not a need but rather a habit,” Chen said. “That's why with each collection, we always give back.”

Much of the Bobblehaus brand is centered around genderless products with the goal to highlight toxic masculinity within Asian cultures.

“We really focused on creating a genderless, elevated, eco-conscious retail space for our own brand as well as the partner brands that we are fortunate to work with,” Chen said, mentioning that she hopes to work with more contributors to promote and encourage non-binary products and spaces in the upcoming months.

Another important piece of the Bobblehaus’ mission is creating an eco-sustainable brand. The core of the collection is tencel-based fabric which is eco-friendlier to the soil than polyester and cotton, and is also recyclable. For each product sold, Bobblehaus donates to plant 10 trees. Since they have launched, Bobblehaus has planted more than 1400 trees through their sales.

“But we hope to reinvent the corner that we are a part of. We want to slow consumerism down, we want to introduce you give what you take, that kind of mindset,” Chen said. “We understand that fashion might not be everyone's priority at the moment because basic needs come to the front, of course.”

While Chen says that launching amid COVID-19 was a challenge, it was a necessary step towards the future of the fashion industry.

“It's definitely [been] a lot of anxiety and tears along the way but at the end of the day it's just a new challenge that we had to face and a new normality that we have to live in.

Bobblehaus currently has two collections in the works –one that will be launched in two months. What was originally supposed to be a two-month pop-up is currently under review for a two-week pop-up event in September. According to Chen, this plan is still in the discussion phase due to the number of resources and safety protocol measures that would be required.

Chen’s advice for small fashion retailers is simple: stick by your community and be true to who you are.

“You need to focus on who your community is and stick to it,” Chen said. “What are you trying to do with your fashion brand? Because fashion is not just fashion, to be honest; fashion has always been a statement, so what is your statement and voice?”

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