Penny Y

• Delivered freelance design services across industrial, web, graphic, footwear, and accessories projects in Australia, France, the UK, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia, serving high-profile clients such as Umbro, Cymbeline Paris, Peter Aedo Barcelona, and United Nude.

• Provided design consultation and creative branding expertise to startups including Trading PLC, NEITAS Japan, IP Hatch Day, and True Vine Capital.

• Founded and developed a luxury brand of sustainable women’s bridal footwear, establishing its creative and marketing direction while coordinating with artisans, designers, suppliers, and manufacturers to streamline product design and production.

• Consulted on establishing and refining the product design process for a sustainable French/Indonesian bag brand, mentoring a Junior Designer through every stage—from brainstorming and research to concept development, sourcing, and sampling.

• As a freelance fashion illustrator, I crafted limited edition bag sleeve designs for a Singapore-based e-retailer renowned for luxury handbag resale, and developed dynamic t-shirt graphics for an Amazon seller.

• Collaborated with the Global Marketing Team to generate fresh commercial ideas, strategic branding, and planned launches—ensuring all creative assets resonate with Asian market trends and sustainability goals.

• Delivered compelling business presentations to Distributors and Sales Teams, outlining seasonal directions, emerging technologies, environmental initiatives, new product releases, and target demographics.

• Teamed up with Footwear Teams in Japan and EMEA to drive design development and conduct sample reviews, ensuring sneaker designs were both commercially viable and aligned with untapped regional market opportunities.

• Conducted comprehensive market research using quantitative and qualitative methods to identify retail needs, delivering actionable reports that pinpoint challenges and propose solutions.

• Provided creative guidance on digital assets in close collaboration with Product and E-commerce teams, continuously refining online customer experiences and interaction points.

• Spearheaded and supported regional collaborative projects- including Mizuno’s first Asian Sportstyle shops in Hong Kong, the pioneering Asian sneaker recycling program with SportSG, and a landmark athlete volleyball photoshoot with Mizuno Indonesia and Thailand.

• Proudly contributed as a member of the Mizuno Global Sustainability Committee, championing eco-friendly strategies across all initiatives.

• Built Zalora Regional Private Label’s footwear division from the ground up, which included designing, standardising, and implementing processes for the product development teams for both men and women’s shoes. My duties also involved recruiting and managing the division’s team members in Singapore as well as training the team in China.

• As a result of the efforts above, I grew the division’s sales by approximately 250% between 2013 to 2014, which translated into monthly revenue of €150,000 per month from 2014 onwards, averaging an annual revenue of €1.8 million.

• Generated a monthly revenue of S$120k per month for Zalora women’s footwear in 2016, which accounted for approximately 60% of Zalora Regional Private Label’s monthly revenue.

• By the end of my tenure, Zalora footwear was the best performing category in Regional Private Label and the overall best performing footwear label on the Zalora website.

I developed intricate design concepts and led the creation of lasts, heels, leathers, metal accents, and upper patterns for renowned multinational brands across Europe, the USA, and China, including Tahari, Anthropologie, Miss Sixty, Marks & Spencer, Theysken Theory, JC Collezione, Jean-Michel Cazabat, Luxury Rebel, and Tracy Reese. Some styles have been featured in New York Fashion Week, Cosmopolitan magazine and L'Officiel magazine.

• Collaborated with the Buying Director to manage both the Limited Edition Designer’s Collection and Shellys’ mainstream collection, coordinating with buyers, agents, and suppliers across Spain and London.

• Represented the brand at Italian trade shows, conducted trend-focused market research, and designed compelling marketing materials and look books for buyers.