“Hanii Yoon and Gene Kang are true romantics. The collections the Korea-based husband-and-wife design team have shown in New York for the past six seasons have been valentines, ones that have often been overly sweet. But their spring show found them hitting their stride. From the first look to the last, the duo touched on many of the major themes of the week: white eyelets, saucy sailor looks, a touch of menswear.”

“It's the hot new label from Korea (honest), and not since the 1980's—when Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto unleashed the minimalist Japanese wave that transformed American fashion—have two designers from across the Pacific made such a splash. The eccentric husband-and-wife team behind Y & Kei dabbles in monkish minimalism, but ultimately surrenders to feminine, form-fitting pieces with color and frills.”

“Alas, unlike Sofia Coppola with Marc Jacobs, or Amanda Harlech with Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Moss is the muse they've never met. Now in their early 40's, Y (Hanii Yoon) & Kei (Jin Young Kang) preside over a massive publicly traded+clothing empire, touted as the DKNY of Korea. In 2001, they landed here and personally bankrolled their third line, Y & Kei. At once ambitious and charmingly naïve, they are intent on nothing less than a full conquest of America, and to achieve this lofty goal, they roam every inch of New York—with an electronic dictionary.”