SOCIAL media couldn’t get enough of Yuhan Wang this season. The Central Saint Martins MA graduate unveiled her latest AW22 collection at the Old Selfridges Hotel, with plenty of viral references to her two cats — a Persian and a British shorthair – with the former even making a surprise appearance in the show as a model carried it down the runway in a spotty faux fur coat.
“Women are like cats. Sometimes we can be very cute but sometimes we can bite,” says Wang, explaining that the cat is an analogy for femininity.
The feline references didn’t stop there. The cat motif is also seen on a handful of other pieces in the collection including a three-piece knit ensemble and ruched dresses with an effect that seemed as if the fabric had been scratched by cats.
Elsewhere, Wang referenced the power dynamic between males and females depicted by Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch in his 1870 novel Venus in Furs, as she set out to define her concept of a strong, independent woman in 2022.
“I feel like when Roman mythology first created Venus it stood for beauty, love, the victory of females. Now it’s just become a symbol for women. I just feel like the meaning behind it has been changed throughout the years. Who is Venus in 2022? It’s not only about one type of woman,” says Wang.
Bringing this underlying message of female strength and empowerment to her work, Wang presented a series of green faux leather pieces, painted with floral motifs, which served as body armour, and came adorned with 3D printed buttons, modelled after statues of Greek goddesses, ears, noses, eyes and hair pieces.
“The collection name Venus in Furs comes from the book by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, which I was quite interested in because the writer made a very interesting, complicated discussion about the power dynamic between males and females and if women’s powers come from men,” adds Wang, summarising the inspiration behind the collection.
“I feel like nowadays most of the rules have been geared by men so we had to follow what the men propose and women have to define their behaviour by that, which I don’t think is right.”
by Joshua Hendren