Yoon Ahn facts for kids

Yoon Ahn is an American businesswoman and fashion designer. She studied graphic design at Boston University and finished her studies in 2000. She is famous as the creative director of her own brand, Ambush. Yoon Ahn also designed jewelry for Dior Men. She lives in Tokyo, Japan, today.

Yoon Ahn's Journey in Fashion

Early Career and Moving to Tokyo

In 2002, Yoon Ahn helped start the Ambush Design Company. This company created cool album covers for her co-founder, Verbal, and other music artists. In 2003, Ahn moved to Tokyo.

In 2006, she co-founded a jewelry brand called Antonio Murphy & Astro. She designed special, fancy jewelry and accessories. These pieces were for hip-hop artists under the Antonio Murphy & Astro name.

Gaining Fame and Starting Ambush

Yoon Ahn became well-known in fashion when stars like Kanye West wore her AMBUSH 'POW!' necklace. This helped her meet other designers, including Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones.

In 2012, Ahn and Verbal officially launched their high-fashion jewelry brand, Ambush. In 2018, Kim Jones, who was the creative director at Dior then, chose Ahn to lead the Dior Men jewelry line. She showed her first designs at the Spring/Summer Paris Fashion Week.

Her Unique Style

Yoon Ahn says she doesn't stick to just one fashion style. She loves pop art, and you can see this in her designs for both Ambush and Dior Men. Her designs often feature bold, gold, or metal jewelry. They also mix ideas from American and Tokyo hip-hop fashion. These cool and unique styles are always part of her work.

How Yoon Ahn Got Started

Childhood and Discovering Fashion

Yoon Ahn's dad was in the military, so her family moved a lot. They lived in different places in the United States and other countries. She spent most of her childhood in Seattle.

Ahn first got interested in fashion by looking at popular fashion magazines. She worked part-time at her local library and would read them there. These magazines made her curious about the New York downtown fashion scene. Even though she didn't go to fashion school, she became a graphic design major.

Rising in the Fashion World

Yoon Ahn became successful in fashion thanks to her design background. She also made friends and connections with important people in the industry. While working on Ambush in Japan, she also handled public relations for Billionaire Boys Club. This is a streetwear brand started by Pharrell Williams and Nigo.

From 2008 to 2011, she worked with Williams and Kim Jones. During this time, she also worked on an Ambush project with Louis Vuitton. She designed a wearable music player called Playbutton. Besides being the creative director of Ambush, Ahn still works as a consultant. She has teamed up with brands like Beats by Dre.

All About Ambush

The Start of a Famous Brand

Before its official launch in 2012, Ambush first became famous for its "Pow!" pendant. After its official launch, Ambush quickly became a big success. The jewelry designs often have heavy and bold looks. Examples include the brand's gold chainmail accessories and earrings inspired by everyday items.

Collaborations and Growth

A year after launching, Ambush started working with brands like A Bathing Ape and later Reebok. In 2008, Ambush worked with A Bathing Ape to create the Kaiju "Strange Beast" Collection. This collection included clothes, accessories, and shoes. They featured Japanese-inspired designs and Ahn's unique fashion ideas.

As creative director, Ahn often designs new pieces for Ambush's seasonal themes. One example is their "Nomad" collection. Starting in 2012, Ambush worked with Reebok. They released two special designs of the classic Reebok Pump Fury HLS sneakers.

Expanding Beyond Jewelry

Ambush began as a fancy jewelry line. But in 2015, it grew to include unisex high-fashion streetwear. These clothes were designed to go perfectly with their jewelry. In the same year, the brand showed its autumn/winter 2015 collection internationally. They showed it for the first time in Hong Kong and Paris.

In 2015, Ahn and Verbal were named among the Top 500 People Influencing the Fashion Industry. They stayed on this list for four more years. The next year, Ambush opened its first main store in Tokyo. In 2017, Ambush was one of the top 8 finalists for the LVMH Prize. In 2018, Ambush showed its designs on the runway at Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo.

Major Brand Partnerships

Ambush has worked with many big brands over the years. These include Louis Vuitton, Off-White, Gentle Monster, Bulgari, Sacai, and Converse. Some recent collaborations in 2020 were Bulgari Serpenti Through the Eyes of Ambush and Ambush x Converse Chuck 70.

Dior Men (2018-2022)

Yoon Ahn became the jewelry director for Dior Men in 2018. She was chosen by the previous Dior creative director, Kim Jones. Her first jewelry designs for Dior were shown at the pre-Fall show in 2018 and the Spring/Summer 2019 show.

Ahn said about the pre-Fall show in Tokyo: "It will be very Japanese, but very Dior and very futuristic." At the SS19 Dior Men show in Paris, Ahn walked the runway with Jones. This show was inspired by Kaws, and it was their first time showing their work for Dior.

Other Collaborations

Yoon Ahn, through her brand Ambush, has worked with many different brands. These include A Bathing Ape, Nike, Off-White, Louis Vuitton, Dr. Martens, Sacai, and Colette. In 2015, Ahn even appeared in ASAP Rocky's "L$D" music video.

Ambush and Nike have continued their partnership. After several Ambush x Nike Dunk High shoe colors, they released new versions of the Air Adjust Force "White/Black."

In June 2022, Ambush and Zellerfeld teamed up. They created a new 3D-printed 100S Clog. This clog was released as a physical shoe and also as a digital NFT.

Awards and Honors

• Ambush's Verbal & Yoon on the Hypebeast 100 — 2014–2017
• Ambush's Verbal & Yoon Ahn on Business of Fashion 500 — October 2016 -2023
• Yoon Ahn listed Vogue Japan's Rising Star of 2017
• Yoon and Verbal listed on Vogue Forces of Fashion