“I wanted to focus more on the CL woman,” explained Claudia Li. It’s a task that the young designer has taken to heart in recent seasons. In Li’s mind, her woman is the sort of happy-go-lucky hard-worker who goes to SoulCycle then a soju bar after. “She has a real life, she has a career, she doesn’t have time for a glam change,” Li added. “She has to look good all the time, but she has to be comfortable.”
Comfort is embedded in the brand’s identity. For Resort, Li continued to expand on ideas introduced in previous seasons, like the roomy paracord-drawstring skirts and voluminous lilac mesh coat-dresses with detachable neckerchiefs. “They’re shaped a bit like bunny ears,” Li said, describing the design detail that recurred twice on the chest of a soft white collared shirt, as well as on the pocket of a white leather trench coat.
The ears were a nod to one of Li’s creature comforts: the stuffed pink toy rabbit she carried around as a child. The reference also appeared as the pale pink hue of her denim separates and a geometric bunny graphic on knit tees and sweatshirts. Another comfort: her mother’s spaghetti recipe, which she reimagined as an abstract curvilinear print that showed up on organza-overlaid jackets. “I call it my happy pasta print!” she said—a nice example of the playful yet personal approach that defines the new Claudia Li.
