by Susan Fang
Chinese Canadian designer Susan Fang, based in London and Shanghai, will unveil a collaboration for the Chinese market with Victoria’s Secret during her fall 2024 runway show on Monday in London.
“I will be styling some pieces from this collaboration into our show on Monday. They work well together, especially with the bras because we have a lot of transparent dresses, and they blend so nicely together as a whole look,” said Fang.
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After debuting on the runway, the capsule collection will hit stores across China in April, building up to May 20, a relatively new festival date among the younger generation in China for lovers who love each other. show how the phrase 520 sounds “I. love you” in Chinese.
For this love-themed capsule, Fang said she’s blending her signature use of breathable fabric, lace, embroidery, transparent beads, and floral patterns reminiscent of butterflies dancing among plants with classic Victoria’s Secret bras and panties.
She’s also offering pajama with broderie anglais edges and heart-shaped cutouts, butterflies and clovers, camisole nightgowns that can be worn multiple times, as well as T-shirts with a puffy heart wing logo with the handwritten words “Fly with Love, ” and outerwear, like a light summer jacket in colorful gradients.
“I’ve always loved Victoria’s Secret since I was in school. My desire to design lingerie and pajamas increased greatly after the pandemic, as many around me are looking for more decorative pajamas as we spend more time at home now. The timing aligned perfectly, as Victoria’s Secret began collaborating with designers last year [starting with Rui] showing strong support for Chinese designers and creativity,” said Fang.
During the development of the capsule, Fang said she was mindful of cost as she wanted “end products to match the same price point as the main collection”.
“Quality was also a key point. It was about finding the most suitable fabrics and the best shape for the female body. We wanted the person to feel the joy of personal wear often. On a personal level, it was a worthwhile project for me because they have so much experience in each category and were very happy to try new ideas,” she said.
On a personal level, the designer believed the Valentine’s Day theme was a “magical fit” for her as she just tied the knot with her engineer husband Dyson last weekend.
Nominated for the 2019 edition of the LVMH Prize, Fang has been exhibiting as part of the official London Fashion Week calendar since 2022.
The designer has made several outstanding shows during Shanghai Fashion Week in recent years, which has earned her award honors, such as the inaugural Yu Award and Lane Crawford’s Creative Callout and major collaborations with brands such as Zara, Nike, Ugg, Swarovski, and the Chinese smartphone maker Oppo. .
Kazna Asker
Kazna Asker is reimagining how fashion brands work, with community and charity at the forefront of her label. She was the first designer to present a hijab collection at the Central Saint Martins MA graduate show, this season for her collection entitled “What are we fighting for?” advocates for coming together to stand against adversity.
“Sometimes the pressure is too much as an individual so it’s about putting the action behind the community,” said the designer.
“My fashion life connects my Yemeni heritage with my upbringing in the north of Britain so my collection continues the love letter to Sheffield and Yemen by blending the two worlds – be it through fabrics, silhouettes or colours,” Asker explained.
“I think my collection this time really explores the power of femininity behind the fight and the strength of the women in my life.”
Using completely dead materials, technical streetwear is fused with traditional Middle Eastern woven upholstery fabrics, and silhouettes are inspired by abayas, hijabs, and jilabans as well as the tracksuits the designer saw while at growing up in Sheffield – where she also developed her passion for community work. , a central feature of their brand.
“Over the past year, I’ve worked closely with Reach Up Youth in Sheffield and started a campaign for teachers of color to be treated equally in Sheffield, working directly with Sheffield City Council. This campaign inspired the development of my film ‘Fight for me, Sheffield’ which I presented at September LFW,” said the designer.
Recently, Asker collaborated with Spread Salaam to create upcycled football jerseys to raise money for the charity organization Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), raising over £1,500 for the charity in the past month.
Amber W. Smith
Born in rural America and based in London, the Amber W. Smith brand reimagines her upbringing through her aesthetic and personal values.
Looking to her father, a bow hunter, for inspiration, Smith found beauty in the bow and arrow.
“It’s a beautiful combination of feminine curve and masculine line, and that was translated into the silhouette and pattern cutting, getting rid of darts to create straight shapes and seeing the volumes and drapes that came out when they were spent,” she said.
There’s also an ode to archery in the details, with intricate waxed cotton cords reminiscent of bowstrings, archery finger tabs, chest guards and belts.
“As someone who left the countryside in the American Midwest for a big and expensive city, I was interested in the different characteristics of hunting in both places and how that is reflected in the garments themselves,” said the designer.
Wool suits and wool-cashmere blends pay homage to the historic hunting clothes of her adopted country, “which are much more noble than my father’s hunting clothes,” said the designer.
In a nod to Smith’s personal beliefs (she hasn’t eaten meat in 17 years) a leather jacket from the collection is made from second-hand leather coats that have been de-selected, cleaned and conditioned, then recut, and wet felted wool. that Smith recalled a rotting deer, although she is quick to point out: “No deer were harmed in the making of this collection.”
Srvc
Founded in 2021, Srvc sees clothing as an extension of the self: a way to hug and hold, protect and defend.
Looking to the daily morning commuters for inspiration, “I wanted to give the Srvc woman armour,” said creative director Ricky Wesley Harriot, adding, “The city can be very harsh and difficult. I wanted to create an outfit that would appeal to our woman, that would enhance not only her silhouette but her powerful presence.”
Body-hugging fabrics – cable knits, technical stretch fabrics, recycled denim from vintage and pre-owned jeans – allow the person to be comfortable and move, toeing the line between technological clothing and tailoring. Composed of a spectrum of greys, the industrial palette, inspired by the London where Harriot grew up, is filled with tower blocks and concrete.
Reflecting that, silhouettes are all about strong and toned shoulders and what is – and isn’t – on display.
“Our garments continue to explore self-styling and the choice of choice so often the silhouettes we propose can be reworked and adapted to further work for the wearer,” he said.
The idea of diversity and inclusivity is woven into the garments and Harriot says he hopes to continue to carry forward the future of Srvc.
Charlie Constantinou
Ask Charlie Constantinou about his brand, and his answer is simple: “Adaptability, function and color.”
For its fall 2024 collection, Constantinou partnered with 66 North in a second collaboration, drawing inspiration from the outerwear brand’s homeland of Iceland. Showing womenswear for the first time, the collection considers “How we can dress from the extreme weather in our everyday life, balance the outdoors, the city and adapt in between,” said the designer.
Zips, cords, and even the textiles themselves have been reworked to streamline form and function.
“This season we’ve redeveloped our signature stretchable quilt into a much lighter but much warmer version featuring recycled dye and mineral color. This textile not only adds to the garment but also allows the garment to stretch and shrink between sizes,” said Constantinou.
Using dead stock fabric only in white or neutral tones, each garment is dyed in-house, the color palette derived from the blinding whites and frosty blues of Iceland’s glaciers and the bronze reds of volcanic rock.
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