Gearing up to celebrate her 10th anniversary show at Paris Fashion Week men’s, the designer unpacks her spring collection, heritage and her next act.
THE Feng Chen Wang man has done some growing up since last season. The Chinese-born, London-hailed designer ditched London’s playground equipment for a technical-savvy offering that echoes a vein of rigour and strict tailoring, teamed with a palette of mature neutrals.
What else stands out? Impressively-tailored coats – if you couldn’t call them conservative, they were certainly classic, with elements part of the Spring 2025 outing that imbued notions of ancient artefacts.
“The Spring Summer 25 collection was inspired by my trip to Jingdezhen, a city in the Jiangxi province of China,” Chen Wang says, explaining how “I’d known that it was the famous porcelain capital for producing Chinese ceramic for the past 1,000 years but learnt a great deal more about the stories and techniques of this heritage craft from the local artisans I met there.”
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
The traditional form of producing pottery, relying on native flora and fauna to make each unique colour and glaze was something she wanted to experiment with and develop into garments for Spring. “It also aligns with our ethos of taking influence from heritage techniques to modern silhouettes and textiles.”
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
The designer opted for bamboo as a pivotal element of study to craft her recent pieces, across apparel and accessories. “Bamboo has always been a signature element of the brand since our SS20 collection, which was a homage to the Fujian province where I was born. Bamboo forests are found in abundance back home and my core memory of hand woven bamboo baskets used to transport fish back from the harbour inspired our first bamboo bag. We have continued to develop different iterations of the bamboo bag, working with local craftsmen and continuing the legacy of these native techniques.”
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
Sculpture and form are two focal pillars that constitute the brand’s DNA, but there’s more to the story. “I would say my Chinese heritage, traditional craftsmanship and native techniques are the key pillars of our DNA,” she opines.
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
“There are definitely elements of sculpture and form which I reference from the past through my lens, in hope that it reaches new worlds and exposes traditional craft to other brands and markets.” A craft that also expanded into a new capsule line, representing the brand’s journey through heritage and innovation.
“I imagine traditional craftsmanship for a modern era,” she says. “I see it as a tribute to Chinese artisanal techniques – through our collaboration with local masters, treating each garment through time-honoured methods and handcrafting garments from the first stitch.”
Backstage at Feng Chen Wang SS25
What’s next for the designer? “2025 is an exciting year for us,” she concludes. “We’ll be celebrating the brand’s 10th anniversary and a new chapter for us to look back at our milestones as we prepare for another year of project launches. There will be a greater focus on our DNA but we will be stepping out of our comfort zone with new categories for the brand.”
by Chidozie Obasi