Feng Chen Wang made it clear from the outset what her men’s show was all about. The words Made in China were emblazoned front and center on the first look and recurred throughout, at times more obliquely in the corner of a shirt or sometimes as enormous 3-D fanny packs tied around the waist, spelling out the letters M, I, and C.
This was, quite obviously, not your traditional Chinese aesthetic. And that was precisely the point. Feng Chen Wang wanted to show another side of Chinese design, a contemporary vision marked by a high degree of innovation, such as shirts composed of cascading petals and long, puffy gloves that seemed to serve no utilitarian purpose. This is the sort of technical wizardry she became known for in her home country and that she continued to shape at the Royal College of Art in London, where she earned her MA in menswear. An LVMH Prize nomination soon followed, firmly ensconcing her on the rising-star map.
Which isn’t to say the collection was completely devoid of traditional Chinese references. The palette ranged from soft browns and navy, an homage to the country’s rural landscape, to modern pink and a crisp red, an obvious political nod. Red is also the color of the Chinese New Year, she pointed out. All of which Western audiences had better start getting used to.
