Xander Zhou’s Spring/Summer collection showed at The Old Sorting Office for London Fashion Week. It was strikingly conceptual, drawing from an arena of popular culture than many contemporary artists, often excluding fashion designers, cite heavy influence by: the digital world.
“The world is how we perceive it. And I can share it with you,” Zhou comments. “As a collage, a sum of Likes.” Emphatically capitalising the verb ‘like,’ Zhou’s commentary is directly congruous with the statement that his collection makes.
Full cape-like trenches plastered with imagery from cyber-world were the most outspoken pieces of the collection. Further looks included women’s wear inspired bell shaped tops and mid-thigh shorts in heavy, well tailored fabrics; trench coats with uninhibited drapery and innovative extended cuffs, facilitating a bold silhouette; and waist-bound shorts looks that, again, bring to mind women’s wear.
The models exhibited a take on the traditional collar accessory, with eccentric necklace-type accoutrement. Lastly, there was a notable use of stark blacks and whites, granting part of the collection a formal, modern aesthetic.
by Emily Rae Pellerin