David Yu is a Korean-American fashion designer and scholar.
David got his BFA degree with an emphasis in fashion design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014. David acquired various skills needed for creating garments during his undergraduate years. He often designed garments that were inspired by ancient Korean art to bring his two cultures together.
After graduating from SAIC, David joined a small atelier in Chicago owned by Polish fashion designer Agnes Hamerlik. The company mainly focused on making women’s custom-made evening wear with a high level of craftsmanship and unconventional twist. He contributed to every aspect of garment production from designing, draping, patternmaking, to sample production.
David joined Cornell University to start his master’s program in the fall of 2017. For his thesis, he explored the relationship between fashion and gender by studying the example of men’s skinny jeans. He graduated with a master’s degree in apparel design in 2019. During his time at Cornell, David worked as a teaching assistant for various classes in the department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design. He also served as a board member of the Korean Graduate Student Association at Cornell.