INFO
| Name | Emma Jing Cornall (she/her) |
| Also known as | Emma Jing |
| Country of Birth | Aotearoa |
| Place of Residence | London |
| Ethnicities | Chinese, Pākehā |
| Artform | Design, Fashion |
| Decades Active | 2020s |
ABOUT
Emma Jing Cornall is an independent fashion designer from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, now living in London. She is known for her playful garments, which are sculpted around the body and often feature ruching, long ties, asymmetrical draping, muted colours, and layers of textiles with contrasting textural qualities. Her focus on draping, fabric manipulation and the creation of one-off pieces developed from Cornall’s struggle with traditional pattern-making and sewing techniques. The adaption of pleating, ruching and panelling techniques — and the embrace of zero-waste practices such as fabric fusion and scrap use — have all contributed to the development of Cornall’s distinctive and unconventional style.
Cornall initially planned to move to the United States after graduating from Massey University with a Bachelor of Design with Honours in 2020, but had to pause these plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, during the first lockdown in 2020, Cornall sewed a collection of 30 garments. After being approached by The Service Depot, a boutique in Pōneke Wellington that wanted to stock her work, Cornall established her label — which draws its name from her own first and middle names.
A collaborative spirit lies at the heart of Cornall’s work. She has worked with friend and fellow designer Taylor Groves, as well as other stylists, jewellers, and designers, including Tom So and Jack Hadley. Other local artists and friends have featured as models in fashion shows that often took place in non-conventional settings, such as Papatūnga, the Parnell Station carpark and an empty gallery on Karangahape Road.
Fashion journalist Rosie Herdman has described Cornall’s one-off pieces as “distinctive playful, off-kilter folds, drapes, bubbles and ruffles, often with multipurpose ribbons that can be tied in numerous ways. A top could also be a skirt and vice versa, and while the pieces are often visually complex, they’re easy – and, most of all, fun – to wear.” Talking about the way she works, Cornall has said, “The creative process for me is working with textures or fabric manipulations, then figuring out how to sculpt them to the body. I use a lot of ties as I think they look beautiful hanging from the body, but also it's the only way to fasten the garments sometimes.”
Cornall initially worked on her label part-time, but by the time she left Aotearoa in June 2023, she’d transitioned to working full-time as an independent designer. Jing’s collections were sold at The Keep, Sabotage MFG and Monty’s in Tāmaki Makaurau and The Service Depot in Pōneke, through Fysika in Kanazawa, Japan, as well as on her own website.
Before leaving Aotearoa, she told Ensemble magazine, “I'd love to work in a couture house and work primarily with drape, so my brand might be put on hold for a while. I'm hoping to get a sewing machine and keep making, but I've also been thinking of studying again... I can get really in my head about the fashion industry, so maybe it's a full career change at this point, who knows.” Since arriving in London, Cornall says she has “started from scratch and is focused on rebuilding a creative community around me.”
LINKS
Key works / presentations
2023 — Wedding show, 17th June, featuring Taylor Groves
2022 — Gemini Season, 18th June 2022, with Taylor Groves
2021 — Fashion Show: Rawiri Brown, Emma Jing-Cornell & Taylor Groves, Britomart Transport Centre and Papatūnga, Parnell Project Space, Parnell Station, presented by Te Tuhi
