“SHE stands serene by a moonlit lake, drinking in the night.” She is Lady Oscar from the Japanese shōjo manga, The Rose of Versailles: the inspiration behind Ryan Lo’s Moon Lake Serenade and the lady who has us all weak for Lo’s interpretation of pre-Revolutionary French rococo aristo attire.
Amongst the rubble that is the pandemonium of modern-day life, Lo finds solace and happiness in beauty – he gives us a collection of beauty in one of its purest forms. His primary colours are black, white and pink. Black is his seeking of solace, pink is his joy, often overshadowed, but nonetheless vital and lastly, white, is the colour in which Lo finds his calm and sensibilities.
Light trickled in through the stained glass windows of the Dutch Hall, a moody undertone to this much anticipated show. The music began and the show opener (quite literally) came rolling down the runway: a matching couple pushing a Silver Cross pram. The male dressed in a hussar’s uniform and the female co-ordinated with a textured midi coat, completed by a satin pussy bow and a bearskin hat – gothic and mournful. Inspired by Swan Lake and the Cecil Beaton’s costumes for Gigi, Lo collaborated again with Stephen Jones on exaggerated marabou ear muffs and revamped bearskin hats. Unconventional and striking, Lo redefines what couple goals really means. Commanding a collection of enchantment, Lo bedecks everything with aplomb: pussy bows, feathers, frills and corsages, all details are accounted for and treated with care. Nothing is out of place, a true testament to the Hong Kong designer’s genius.
Having explored the roots of kawaii through the study of the Japanese illustrator, Rune Naito, Lo brings us a collection transcendent and subversive of our expectations and perception of the word. We are not given a candy-pink, sweet-saturated embodiment of cuteness, but rather a romantic heroine whose face is framed by barrel curls and pearl clips.
Fusing kawaii with Lo’s reimagined Lady Oscar, the collection is ethereal, an insight into Lo’s visionary mind, he transports us away from our mundane realities. During the daytime, he characterises her by cosiness as she’s wrapped in double-faced quilted nylon coats and jackets with a co-ordinating skirts, however, by afternoon tea she’s in drop-waist lace dresses and by night, she’s defined by luxury with voluminous tiered cocktail dresses being the only exception she can make.
High neck ruffles, shimmering organza skirts, ostentatious ear muffs, ribboned satin bows and plumage, there is no detail that is too much or that is ill-placed. For those who crave the simpler things in life, he gives us lurex sweat pants and hoodies, but for those who want lyricism, and romanticism, the finer things in life, he gives us an abundance – all fit for a royal. The knitwear and crocheting were arguably the standout pieces, exhibiting Lo’s affinity for textures.
Ryan Lo fleets between prim and proper and provocative, giving us the chance to write our own narrative in the process – are the opening couple scorned, simply impeccably dressed or do they have a secret agenda? Lo gives us the liberty to decide. Ryan Lo’s Moon Lake Serenade was arguably the most anticipated London Fashion Week debut and there is good reason for that. It was stunning, truly fit only for royalty.
by Robyn Ngan