Paris Fashion Week: 4 Chinese designers who are shaking up the establishment

Paris Fashion Week has become the most important capital for the menswear industry. Many Asian designers showed their collections alongside the big names such as Louis Vuitton and Celine.

While established figures Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake and new stars Sacai, Undercover, Junya Watanabe were among more than 12 Japanese designers and contemporary South Korean brands, Juun J and Wooyoungmi, a new generation of Chinese designers has grasped the initiative.

Sankuanz

Zhe Shangguan’s avant-garde line Sankuanz has become established in Paris. Mixing caustic graphic design with a conceptual approach, the former Xiamen University graphic design student has made himself relevant. His twist on the Nasa logo in the spring 2017 collection did so well that Vans, Heron Preston or Coach all collaborated with the American space agency on fashion items the following year. Sankuanz showed its 2019 autumn collection with womenswear and menswear at Sotheby’s in Paris. Known for his technical outwear, sweatshirts and sneakers, the designer added a surprising layer of his creative arsenal with dark sartorial garments paired with edgy silver jewellery. The unconventional collection showed how he is evolving.

Sean Suen (menswear)

Chinese designer Sean Suen launched his eponymous label in Beijing in 2012. While Suen made his debut at spring/summer 2016, nowadays it’s part of the official Paris calendar. The fashion designer rethinks his Chinese aesthetics by adapting them to his vision of contemporary man with strong storytelling. Suen’s autumn/winter 2019 collection entitled “Ghost Town” was inspired by the flooding of his Fengdu childhood home during construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

All the models appeared with wet hair on the runway. The first silhouettes were elegantly tailored with asymmetric white and black jackets. Then, garments in shades of grey were more casual, a little bit destroyed, washed out and dull. The designer played with the hem of the trousers and sleeves by rolling them up as exaggerated cuffs. The voluminous coats were closed by a belt, brilliantly engineered as a long zip wrapped around the waist. Oversized bags felt like a fishing net. The collection finished with beautiful garments made of colourful prints and patch works.