Plumes of Smoke

June 20, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Image above: Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Woman of the Year (1942)

In the 17th century, when silk was widely traded along the Silk Road, the delicate material originating from China was adored by the European upper classes as a luxurious fabric for clothing. Men, in particular, wanted to be depicted in paintings wearing a silk robe-de-chambre or a long banyan gown as a symbol of their status and wealth.

Tobacco was popular, too; it was brought to Europe primarily from the Americas. Though its use was extensively regulated during the era, smoking was still considered a fashionable act for men. In England, George Latimer Apperson’s 1914 book The Social History of Smoking satirically lists “taking tobacco with a grace” as one of the accomplishments of “a complete, well-qualified gentleman”.

Enter the smoking jacket, designed to protect the proper gentleman’s attire from odours or stains. The dual notions of luxury and comfort made silk and velvet ideal for fabrics; other wool-blended fabrics such as cashmere, merino and plush were also commonly used. Donning this jacket after dinner, men would retreat to the garden or the smoking room with their pipe or a cigar in hand.   

In 1926, British businessman Lou Rose designed men’s nightwear garments using fine fabrics, creating a more relaxed version of the smoking jacket; the brand is still active today and is now named for Derek Rose, Lou’s son. In the US, smoking jackets became a popular item for outerwear among celebrities, from Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra to Katharine Hepburn; the acclaimed actress wore a structured velvet smoking jacket with silk shawl lapels and an adorned belt in the 1942 film Woman of the Year. Other famous figures to wear the style included Playboy magazine creator Hugh Hefner – and Fred Astaire, the legendary Hollywood musical dancer and singer, was allegedly buried in his favourite smoking jacket. 

In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent created the famous tuxedo-style suit for women, Le Smoking, as part of his autumn/winter Pop Art collection. Aside from playing with traditional gender roles, it was also controversial at the time because of its sexual implications – relying not on exposure of bare skin, but a more subtle, smouldering look. The collar and shoulder line were adjusted to be more feminine, the curve was emphasised with a narrow waistline and the perfectly cut trousers helped give women’s legs an elongated appearance.   

Going Green

June 20, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Avant-Garde Approach

June 6, 2018 / by Sonia Altshuler

Italian designer Miuccia Prada has always been at the cutting edge of fashion’s drive. From countercultural fabric choices and subverting definitions of beauty to hiring architects to design her stores, as well as the brand’s foundations in Milan and Venice that show constantly revolving art exhibitions, Prada’s offerings have been ambitious and, in their finest manifestations, avant-garde. 

Now, the woman with the “ugly beauty” mantra has surprised the market again by inviting four celebrated creative minds to work on a unique item for her autumn/winter 2018 menswear collection. True to form, on this occasion Mrs Prada (as she’s called in-house) has switched the focus to the industrial side of the multifaceted Prada identity. Globally renowned architects Rem Koolhaas, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Herzog & de Meuron and Konstantin Grcic have been enlisted to work with a simple brief: to create an item using the black nylon fabric, considered a Prada icon. 

In 1984, Mrs Prada first introduced black nylon with the brand’s backpack. It served as the perfect representation of the designer’s nomadic, exploratory sensibilities, but also of her understanding of the principle of utilitarianism. Totem of style and travel piece combined, the fashion-meets-function item became the It-bag overnight. It was minimal, too, emblazoned only with Prada’s iconic triangular logo. The black nylon backpack was a high-low stunt of prescient proportions, a game-changer that is still coveted today.

Prada Invites – as the new initiative is called – brings together the architects to manifest four radically different approaches that investigate the poetic, practical, technical and aesthetic aspects of nylon. The Paris-based Bouroullec brothers have collaborated with a wide range of companies such as Cassina, Alessi, Samsung, Flos and more; their work covers a broad stretch from jewellery to structures, and from drawings to videos and photography. But this is their first time trying their hand at fashion design, so how did they find the project? 

“I’ve always liked the profiles of people – architects, painters and students – walking around with their art folders,” says Ronan Bouroullec. “The movement of that rectangle… its clear-cut, fixed geometry contrasting with the moving bodies. This project takes that geometry and instils it in a shoulder bag, with its inside gusset, low-fastening elastic bands and eyelets, and use of a single colour, which produces a subtle graphical playfulness.”

Swiss phenoms Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron received the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 2001 and have assembled a veritable greatest-hits of work: Beijing’s National Stadium, aka the Bird’s Nest; the Tate Modern in London; the Pérez Art Museum Miami; and M+ in Hong Kong, due to open next year. Prada is a regular collaborator with Herzog & de Meuron, who build stores for the brand, but this was the inaugural fashion crossover. 

For the duo’s entry, Herzog has invoked language and its changing identity. “Language has lost its power – to persuade people with arguments or to enchant them with the poetry of words,” explains Herzog. “It was a weapon of enlightenment.” He argues that language has lost its seduction, becoming an empty vehicle of information. As such, he uses text as a design element, like a pattern or decoration, with entire passages almost like ornamental tattoos. “The language we encounter here is like an archaeological find, as fascinating to us as ancient scrolls or coins, because we sense that its time is running out,” he says. 

Last but not least is the towering figure of the Rotterdam-born Koolhaas, who runs Dutch architectural firm OMA. Currently a professor at Harvard, he has built the Fondazione Prada in Milan, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow and the headquarters of China Central Television in Beijing, amongst others. 

Flower Power

June 6, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Image above: Frida Kahlo on a bench, 1939

Frida Style Express

Poly Amour

May 23, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Sweden’s high-street retail giant H&M likes to push the envelope in terms of its sustainability, innovation and functionality. With its clout, the Stockholm-based company places itself at the cutting edge as it strives towards a toxic-free future for the fashion industry. H&M has made a pledge that by 2030, it will only use 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials in its clothing; currently, that figure stands at around 40%. 

Enter the brand’s tie-up with 23 students from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), who have designed a full collection for the fashion brand.“It all started with a simple idea of asking students to explore sustainable design,” says Hanna Hallin, sustainability manager of H&M Greater China. “The team took this concept to the skies and created innovative, edgy and authentic pieces, challenging the way fashion is made and enjoyed today.” 

H&M already has an annual line called the Conscious Exclusive collection, which utilises and creates sustainable fabrics, with the long-term goals of having zero garments going to the landfill and saving on natural resources. Customers can see where the clothes were made, what materials were used and who made them. 

The PolyU designers’ collection is called Clothes We Live In, which translates into a collection of trans-seasonal, functional and modern pieces that are wearable 365 days a year. “Throughout the creative process, we have been very playful and innovative with our approaches to sustainability,” explains Basia Szkutnicka, a professor of practice and the director of the master’s programme in fashion and textile design at PolyU. And behind the 23 unique pieces of the collection are 23 students, who have focused on sustainable fashion by using deadstock fabric or unwanted garments. 

The capsule collection aims to break down conventional boundaries and doesn’t limit itself in terms of age, gender, season or occasion. Silhouettes are loose with a sportswear influence, while the style is edgy and contemporary. Among the standout pieces, the oversized unisex Jessica jacket is windproof due to the clever sealed-seam construction on the inside, which ensures there is no waste from the cutting in the fabric roll at the production stage. The quirky, almost surreal Luna coat is a transformable piece that becomes a soft duvet when fully opened – perfect for romantic adventurers in the mountains. The Shubhi three-piece, meanwhile, has numerous transformational possibilities and is somewhat Issey Miyake-esque in its multifunctional approach – from a top to trousers, or even from a skirt to a dress. 

A Love Supreme

May 23, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Corner the Market

May 23, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Established in 2014, the brand Zesh was founded in Shanghai by then-23-year-old Haoze Dong, a University of Southern California business school graduate and president of its Chinese Student Association. Specialising in contemporary, practical women’s handbags, Zesh’s prices range from RMB1,000 to RMB4,000.

Dong grew up in a family business that manufactured luxury handbags, which gave him the rare privilege of understanding how premium bags are made. Aiming to showcase the high level of quality that “Made in China” products can achieve, he works with local factories that have manufactured high-end bags for more than 20 years, as well as leather suppliers that have served luxury brands. Zesh’s team, which consists of young designers who studied and worked in Europe as well as industry veterans, is heavily inspired by modern architecture.  

The signature collection is called Cubelet, with bags featuring three corners – the fourth corner is “cut off” and covered by triangular hardware in gold or silver, inspired by deconstructivism. In Chinese, “someone with edges and corners” refers to the type of person who is uncompromising and firmly stands by their beliefs. With such implications, the brand says it wishes to design for women who have edges and corners – meaning they’re independent, imperfect and don’t blindly follow trends. 

New Vintage

May 23, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Combine some 21st-century neo-Chinese chic with early 20th-century Gabrielle Chanel, then overlay the influence of eclectic adventurers and travellers across the ancient Silk Road, and the structure for Shiatzy Chen’s autumn/winter 2018 collection takes glamorous form. 

In a modern homage to the romantic spirit of this era, Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia, the brand’s founder and head designer, evokes the rich colours of Dunhuang and its majestic caves in the Chinese province of Gansu. 

A commercial trading centre between East and West containing 1,000-year-old examples of Buddhist art, this provenance suffuses the collection with a rich narrative of peony pink, pastel green, gingko yellow, indigo, beige, orange, bronze and ink black. 

The design palette embellishes intricate lines and abstract geometric patterns across short coats, bouffant skirts, sports jackets and Chinese-style robes, which evoke the heavenly beasts and flying goddesses adorning the walls of Dunhuang. Among the flamboyant fabrics are jacquard prints, colour-blocked wools, lace, organza and satin. 

Check Mix

April 6, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Missoni

Print mixology ◆ rainbow stripes ◆ light and breezy

Hermès

Geometric beauty ◆ modernistic palette ◆ madras-style squares

Daks

Day to night ◆ the classic double-breasted coat ◆ British chic

Sacai

Asymmetrical ◆ semi-sheer ◆ art of hybridity

Viktor & Rolf

Surrealism ◆ dimensional play ◆ hand-woven

Fashion Statement

April 6, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Images above: “I Wear What I Want”

Though it might seem to be the ultimate manifestation of 20th-century American mass consumerism or British punk protest culture, the T-shirt is much more than that. The ongoing London exhibition T-Shirt: Cult, Culture, Subversion at the Fashion and Textile Museum celebrates this historic, ubiquitous and universal garment. 

Decorated T-shaped tunics date back as far as the 5th century CE and screen-printing was documented during China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE). In the modern era, the garment’s precursor was established in 1913 by the US Navy, whose regulation uniform kit included a lightweight short-sleeved white-cotton undervest. The first known literary usage came in 1920, when famed American writer F Scott Fitzgerald referenced the word “T-shirt” in his debut novel This Side of Paradise. That same year, the word was officially added to Webster’s Dictionary.

Today’s iconic screen-printed T-shirts came into full swing in the UK during the 1960s and ’70s – some prominent examples include the government’s “We Don’t Smoke” in 1969 and the Rolling Stones’ “Tongue and Lips” by John Pasche the following year. In 1971, punk pioneers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren opened their legendary Let it Rock shop, which sold rock ’n’ roll memorabilia and slogan-adorned T-shirts. 

In 1977, Milton Glaser’s “I Love NY” design was unveiled as part of a new marketing campaign for the state of New York. Inspired by pop art, the iconic heart has become one of the most lucrative T-shirt designs of all time. 

As T-shirts transformed into identity platforms, the voice of political protest wasn’t far behind. Famed English fashion designer Katharine Hamnett met British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at London Fashion Week in 1984; the former wore a shirt that read “85% Don’t Want Pershing” – a reference to public opposition to the relocation of US missiles. (Two decades later, in 2003, Hamnett sent models down the catwalk wearing shirts with the slogan: “Stop War, Blair Out” during the Iraq War.) 

By the year 2000, the rise of fast fashion meant that more than two billion T-shirts were being sold each year – that’s about one for every three people on the planet and that figure has since risen. The endless push for consumerism has driven many designers towards a goal of sustainability. 

Technology has started to play a role today – and the textile industry has seen lots of innovation. The first bulletproof T-shirt and another that could block up to 99% of UV rays arrived in 2010. Next, the world’s first programmable T-shirt – a collaboration between Ballantine’s and wearable tech company CuteCircuit – was born two years later, allowing its wearer to display status updates and more on an LCD screen. 

Then, the humble T-shirt seemed to go through the stratosphere. In 2013, for the centennial celebration of the garment’s provenance, French luxury purveyor Hermès released the most expensive T-shirt of all time, made entirely of crocodile skin and priced at US$91,500. A year later, “athleisure” overtook denim as the most popular shopping category and the release of Alexander Wang’s collection for H&M helped solidify the trend. Suddenly, T-shirts in lycra or neoprene, once reserved for the gym, became perfect for just about every other activity. 

Two years ago, Vetements released its now-notorious DHL T-shirt, noted as much for its “real-life meme” as for its US$300 price tag (an original purchased directly from DHL costs about US$7). In an Inception-esque move, this was followed by the launch of Vetememes, a parody brand drawing on the social media-fuelled success of the brand that left everyone wondering if the T-shirt had finally jumped the shark. 

But perhaps we’re moving into a simpler era where do-it-yourself T-shirts will take the lead. When everyone’s goal is to go viral, you don’t necessarily need a designer brand or a giant budget to create a style seen by millions. Last summer, during his performance at the Panorama Music Festival in New York City, singer Frank Ocean donned a shirt that read “Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just be quiet?” Social media went ballistic – as did the business of 18-year-old Kayla Robison, who makes the T-shirt for her brand Green Box Shop, where it retails for just US$20. 

Maybe it’s back to basics – but whatever happens, this 5th-century icon looks as contemporary as ever.