"It's great that she can come back to Paris." After the launch of Uma Wang's Fall/Winter 2023 collection, British Vogue contributing editor Ellie Pithers wrote at the end of this show commentary.
In the past three years, the international media and buyers have been expecting Chinese designers to appear on the stage of Paris Fashion Week again, and as Chinese designers themselves, they are also facing and solving various uncertainties in front of them, and making adjustments at any time to maintain the continued development of the brand. Fortunately, the dilemma has become a thing of the past, and at the just-concluded Fall/Winter 2023 Fashion Week, we were pleasantly surprised to see Chinese designers once again appear in Paris with a strong lineup, and brought various forms of releases and displays, Uma Wang, DAWEI and Shang Xia continued to play steadily, Louis Shengtao Chen and Marrknull showed their creative vision to the authoritative judges in the LVMH Prize competition, OUDE WAAG welcomed the brand's first showroom in Paris since its inception, and RUOHAN was released at Paris Fashion Week for the second consecutive season.
Uma Wang
DAWEI
Didu
Rui (Rui Zhou)
CHENPENG
Louis Shengtao Chen
RUOHAN
CALVINLUO
Shang Xia (Li Yang)
Presented at Paris Fashion Week
of Chinese designers and brands
We took the opportunity to chat with designers Louis Shengtao Chen, OUDE WAAG and RUOHAN after their intense work in Paris about their new designs and feelings about their new designs and returning to Paris.
After two consecutive days of public presentations of the LVMH Prize semifinals, Louis's voice on the other end of the phone was already a little hoarse, but he still answered every question he asked very seriously. It was 9 a.m. Paris time, and after our interview, he was ready for the next meeting.
What questions did the judges share with you at the LVMH Prize Showroom?
The judges will ask you about yourself and your brand, where the design is produced, your academic and work background, individual questions about sustainability, and some of your goals and plans for the future. In just two days, to introduce yourself and the brand to hundreds of people, in fact, when you see the big names in the fashion industry, you don't have time to think about it.
What long-awaited judges and guests did you meet at the scene?
What impressed me the most was when Jonathan Anderson came to my booth. Because I used to work in Loewe's leather goods department before I started the brand, he also took time out the day before the Loewe show, which also made a lot of sense to me. Four years ago I was a small assistant on his team, and now I present the complete brand and product in front of him.
Tell us about the collection presented at the LVMH Prize?
This time the main presentation is Louis Shengtao Chen's Fall/Winter 2023 collection, inspired by photographer Jim Goldberg's documentary photography Raised by Wolves, who has spent 6 years documenting the lives of runaway teenagers living on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles, interviewing and capturing their displaced and misunderstood youth. I think that for young people or, for example, as a designer of the younger generation, I also face a lot of challenges and confusion. Many times we don't know what kind of person we want to be or what kind of place we want to go, but I think moving forward with this sense of confusion and unknown is sometimes a wonderful motivation.
Louis Shengtao Chen Fall/Winter 2023 collection
So this series draws on the influence of this work and the theme of wandering, such as Goldberg's work in which there are many unworldly young people choosing clothes in the flea market and dressing themselves up like a luxurious old lady, which I think is very interesting in this sense of contrast and recreating identity. So there's a lot of fun tassels and textures this season, and a fur-effect coat made by denim.
Julia Fox dressed
Louis Shengtao Chen Fall/Winter 2023 collection
Are there any places in the city of Paris that are particularly meaningful to you?
Actually, I used to live in Paris for more than a year when I worked at Loewe, and I think Paris is indeed one of my favorite cities. Here your attitude towards life and to everything outside will be different. I think there are a lot of things here, whether it's the exhibition attraction or even the street outside, it's exciting to explore, so I think I'll come back to Paris for a while and visit it again when the busy days are over.
How would you sum up your trip to Paris and what it means for you personally and for Louis Shengtao Chen?
I feel like it's a new chapter for the brand, and I feel deeply that it's a very fair track here. Here, all the design and craftsmanship of the clothes are laid out in front of you, everyone is very clear and professional, you can understand what kind of thing you are making, and you are mature enough to present it with designers and design brands from all over the world. I think it inspires me a lot, such as the New York brand Luar, who was also shortlisted this time, in terms of visual identity, because Louis Shengtao Chen is also a very visual brand that likes to show through the fashion stage, so I think we have a lot of new things worth trying in this area.
After a week of showcases at the Paris Showroom, designer Yin Jingwei completed the interview on the way to the airport and on the way to security. This trip to Paris seems more like a warm-up to him, and in more than half a month, he will bring OUDE WAAG Fall/Winter 2023 collection to a launch event during Shanghai Fashion Week. Before officially unveiling the new collection, he shared with us the highlights of his trip to Paris through his own lens.
Is this OUDE WAAG's first appearance in Paris? Why did you choose to present in Showroom during Paris Fashion Week?
Yes, this is our first appearance in Paris, the first time the brand has returned to Europe since its inception. For us, this time is more like a warm-up, the international market is a completely different atmosphere and demand, and we also want to get some direct communication and feedback by showing our work to others up close.
Showroom ends clearance, red-haired "cleaner"
During this preparation and presentation, were there any moments that impressed you?
We were inspired by their professionalism and almost demanding standards in our dealings with our Parisian partners.
Tell us about the collection presented in Paris, which season it was, what were the main inspirations and design features?
In the Fall/Winter 23 collection "Flesh Stone", we express our understanding of the complexity of women by juxtaposing hard, cold marble with soft, warm skin elements. For OUDE WAAG, contemporary women increasingly embody different dignity of themselves, as well as different roles in society, sometimes even contradictory, but they are complex individuals who combine the tension of contradiction, which is very fascinating to us.
What was the feedback on the showroom, how did local buyers rate your design, and what topics did you talk about?
Without much knowledge of the brand, everyone was surprised at how finished our product was. We are talking more about how to better present these products in the context of the international market.
RCA alumnus MATIJA COP
Costumes are exhibited at the Pompidou
Are there any places in the city of Paris that are particularly meaningful to you? And what old friends have you met for a long time?
There are too many mixed feelings for the city of Paris, which is also a city full of emotional tensions. Meeting many old and new friends from all over the world is also an important part of the great charm of Paris.
RICK OWENS SHOP WINDOW IN PARIS,
Illustrations and objects
How would you sum up your trip to Paris and what it means for you personally and for the OUDE WAAG brand?
A new journey.
This is the second consecutive season of RUOHAN released at Paris Fashion Week, after more than a week of busy, Nie Ruohan communicated with us the feelings of holding this launch in Paris as soon as the return plane landed, with peace of mind and pride.
How do you think the brand has changed in the past six months?
I'm more comfortable and more confident. We went a lot more smoothly than last time, and with the experience of last time, we were more prepared this time, and we were not as overwhelmed that day.
During this preparation and presentation, were there any moments that impressed you?
Early in the morning on the day of the show, at five o'clock in the morning, we went to the showroom to iron our clothes, and the agreed time with the driver was 10 minutes late, and we called the driver anxiously, and actually understood French. An hour later, after the things were delivered, we were very relaxed and had breakfast in the restaurant, and the sudden tension and relaxation really felt a bit of a split personality.
Tell us about the series presented in Paris?
RUOHAN's Fall/Winter 2023 collection uses soil as a conceptual metaphor, returning to the original function of clothing and exploring the form of the essential existence of clothing. The garment comes into contact with each wearer, reacts to, and eventually becomes part of the body; It is tangible because of the existence of matter, and even more so because of the flow of matter.
RUOHAN Fall/Winter 2023 collection
This series places soil and clothing together in the beginning, chaos, of all things, and explores what shape does it really exist? Seeds, stumps, fruits, stars, natural things represented by soil are mostly round; Bricks, furniture, buildings, digital products, and human things represented by clothing are mostly square. The "square" that is close to perfection is the answer to the brand, and it is precisely because people give things rules that the invisible becomes tangible, and with the square and circle of the world, there is a mutual transformation and dependence of the two. From this point of view, all the garments in this collection are deconstructed and cut from a square sketch; The invisible garment is expressed in a regular way.
RUOHAN Fall/Winter 2023 collection
The Palais de Tokyo, where it is held, is also one of the main venues of Paris Fashion Week, why did you choose this place and what are the special part designs?
It's a wonderful opportunity. When I was in Paris, I did an internship for an artist at the Palais de Tokyo, and this time I showed it at the Palais de Tokyo to feel like a time traveler.
Are there any places in the city of Paris that are particularly meaningful to you? And what old friends have you met for a long time?
The Musée de la Rodin and the small lawn of Avenue Breteuil where sheep graze are a 5-minute walk away. When I went to school, the house was rented there, and I felt like a paradise, and I always wanted to find time to see it again when I came back to Paris. Casting met Mia, the first model who helped me take a look. I was only 20 years old when I first met, and I still tell the story of the first time I met.
How would you sum up your trip to Paris and what it means for you personally and for the RUOHAN brand?
A reassuring exclamation point. After the complete opening of the country, Chinese designers in Paris should be very proud of the brand and will remember the existence for a long time.
Interview, written by: Zenlai
Edited by Lexi Chen
Design: Xiao B