Mandarin & General

The designer/founder of Mandarin & General, Taiwanese-born Peggy Tan, comes from a family steeped in art and Chinese antiques. Her father, Tan Chung Hsiang, is a renowned painter and Chinese antique dealer who nurtured her interest in fine art and Chinese heritage as a child. Knowing that art and design was the path she wanted to pursue, Tan made the move to Canada to attend high school as an international student and later enrolled in NY Parsons School of Design’s Interior Department. After working in interior and graphic design for a few years and starting her own successful design studio, she realized her creative needs weren’t being met – that is when Mandarin & General was born. To fulfill the vision of celebrating her roots by utilizing traditional Chinese garment making principles in a modern context, she went back to Taiwan in the summer of 2010. Here, she studied under a famous Qipao master team (they usually don’t take apprentices that wont commit to less than 4 years) to learn the intricate fundamentals of the craft. Now with four seasons under her belt and a 2013 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award finalist, Tan continues to rediscover and reimagine her traditional Chinese garment design principles in a fashion-forward line that pushes the boundaries of modern, ready-to-wear clothing.