LOCAL WOLVES // ISSUE 51 - CONAN GRAY

mei yan WRITTEN BY MACKENZIE RAFFERTY PHOTOGRAPHY BY LENNE CHAI

LA based designer, social media mogul and model MEI YAN is a pink-haired powerhouse of inspiration, creativity, and drive. Yan, after garnering success on social media, recently released her own premiere jewelry collection partnered with Kestan. This line, “Kestan x Mei”, includes three distinct items (a ruffle choker, wrap choker, and flowerinspired earrings), reflect the Yan’s complete individuality and tenacity. Growing up, Yan’s unique sense of style inspired many of her peers to encourage her to study fashion and design. Filled with self-doubt, Yan had trouble believing in the potential of this dream. Years later, with her own jewelry line, Yan has surely proven her self-doubt wrong. And, according to Yan, her momentum has only just picked up— “design has become one of my newest passions and I hope to continue pursuing it.” Her line was heavily inspired by the trend of mixing and matching various textures and styles. Yan’s main goal of this jewelry line was to bring a touch of her style into anyone’s closet. “In a way,” she added, “these pieces are all extremely personal to me.” The line is a culmination of some of her favorite style elements: versatility, femininity, “and of course the color pink!” When pressured to pick her favorite item from the line, Yan was stumped. If she had to pick, she noted, that it would be the Lia Ruffle Choker,

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which happen to be the piece she featured in our shoot. She added, “the soft ruffled lace adds the perfect hint of femininity to any outfit.” Bonus Yan fun fact, this choker was named after one of her best friends! An important part of this jewelry line for Yan has nothing to do with jewelry or design at all. A portion of her proceeds are going to the Old Friends Animal Sanctuary in Juliet, Tennessee. Years ago, by chance, Yan followed the Old Friends Animal Sanctuary page on Facebook. “Every time one of their posts showed up,” Mei added, “it would brighten my day immensely. It always broke my heart to see senior dogs live the rest of their years in shelters and I was happy to see a rescue completely dedicated to changing that.” Despite not having Facebook anymore, Yan could not forget about the Old Friends Animal Sanctuary and their message. Yan grew up with shelter dogs and always dreamed of being able to contribute to rescues; a few years back she lost her childhood pet to an illness and it changed her life. The memory of her lost pet pushes her to give back to the animals still at shelters today— “I’m happy that no matter how small, I’m able to give back to them… I want to continue to utilize even the smallest amounts of success to helping whatever way I can.”