Feng Chen Wang returned to France yesterday to present her latest unbuilt creations on the runway, based on the fusion of community concept and life’s beautiful moments. This season, the Chinese-born, London-based designer has taken notes from traditional Chinese practices, many of which feature in her signature design style.
For Spring/Summer 2023, Wang presents a range fueled by a restless energy conveyed by notes of chaos fueled by personal issues that collide in everyday life. The designer’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection sees the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary clothing through a genderless lens, hopping through different eras. Wang’s signature design techniques are mixed with refined tones of black, white, grey, indigo and khaki, with bright pink and orange accents.
Invoking the original Chinese custom of “Robe of a Hundred Families,” Wang takes donated fabric from family, friends, and neighbors—and turns it into a heartwarming patchwork garment. Her trademark phoenix motifs are previewed in Chinese landscape painting techniques, paired with decorative jeans. At the same time, faux fur makes a statement and is quickly attached to coats, bags and hats that flow with the wind.
Quilted outerwear collides with shiny vinyl streetwear taken from last season’s discarded fabric, while structured garments and accessories are held together with Chinese knots, which serve as an ancestor to today’s button-down methods. According to the show, “Wang vividly remembers her grandmother waking up every day and tying the knot on her shirt. These knots carry the meaning of bringing together two different parts of a garment, apart from the function of tying two different parts of a garment. Binding generations, cultures and communities together. The loops are jumbo-sized and attach to coats, umbrellas and scarves, providing an undeniable cultural value.
Check out the collection in the gallery above and stay tuned for more Paris Fashion Week FW23 content throughout the week.
Elsewhere in fashion, Bianca Sanders’ FW23 runway show was performance art.
