Meet Tiffany Ying of Masterclass Apparel

There is a new activewear brand that you need to know about- Masterclass Apparel. I'm a fan of their designs and totally appreciate workout clothes that don't look like boring workout clothes. I asked co-founder Tiffany Ying a few questions about the brand and how it all came about.

- Who is the Masterclass Apparel man? The Masterclass Apparel man is an active, driven, discerning guy who takes pride in his appearance and is careful about the style choices he makes; he invests in his own health and well-being in all aspects of his life and isn't afraid to stand out from the crowd a little for his choices.

- You use an engineered knit which includes silver ion antibacterial technology. How doest that work exactly? Silver's antibacterial properties have been recognized for well over a hundred years, but we're only now really understanding why it works so well. Researchers believe the silver ions disrupt some of the proteins necessary for bacteria to replicate. Slower bacteria grown = less smelll. Our silver ion treatment is designed to last wash after wash: the finish is built in to the yarn fibers before our fabric is knit - so the treatment is more durable than if it were applied after the fabric was knit.

- What's the inspiration for the Spring/Summer 2016 collection? The SS16 collection was inspired by the intricacy of traditional Japanese woodcut prints. I love the mixture of vivid color with delicate imagery and wanted to incorporate it into our collection. Our deep sea and camo patterns have bold color, but also a depth to them that draws you in and makes you want to 
seek out all of the little details.

- How did Masterclass Apparel get started? Masterclass Apparel was started by Emily and myself after my husband observed that my activewear was way more interesting, visually, than his. He was sick of the traditionally garish colors that screamed "gym clothes" and wanted something that blended well with his everyday clothing while still being breathable and sweat-wicking. The rest is history!

- Why is Masterclass produced in the US instead of overseas? We manufacture and source in the USA because we believe that customers can identify and want quality, well-made clothing. We love that we're able to monitor the quality of production as it's happening, close to our design headquarters in New York. It's also no secret that a lot of clothing is made overseas in less-than-ideal working conditions in order to keep manufacturing costs down, but these "savings" come at the expense of the workers and the environments they live and work in. We wanted to build a different type of supply chain, one that focuses on treating people well, using expertise that we've got locally in New York's Garment District, and it's working out really well for us.