With stillness, you have to look at the world around you and like myself, you may have noticed how antiquated the very idea of normality might be. What is the normal consensus exactly, when no one can interact with it? Ray Chu’s response is entirely personal and reflective and a far cry from the #newnormal sermon it could have been if handled with lesser skill. Known for his use of deadstock fabric, organic cotton, vegan leather and only producing to order, Ray has built a career of singular and refreshing collections that celebrate fluidity in gender and design. Continuing his aesthetic of refined sets and separates with oversized silhouettes, he introduces fetish details and iconography to celebrate our elemental and insectoid need for evolution and experiences. Glossy blacks and reds laying the scene for glittering greens, blues and muted yellows that could have come from the intimate cinema of Wong Kar Wai. The cut outs that made such a key feature in Chu’s last collection has taken a back seat here in favour of silver stand out accessories and a continually cinched-in waist fit through cropped jackets and corset inspired coordinated sets. Particular favourites of mine including the two piece cropped yellow suit and the statement silver to-the-foot necklace. 'WE ENTER A NEW ERA FOLLOWING A SURREAL PERIOD. A PERIOD WHICH FOR ME IN TAIWAN SEEMED LIKE A WORLD AWAY- A LARGELY SAFE HAVEN FROM THE HARSHNESS SEEN ELSEWHERE. THIS COLLECTION IS A CELEBRATION BORN FROM A PERIOD OF ALMOST ABSTINENCE FROM NORMALITY AND EMBOLDENS THIS IDEAS OF ABSOLUTELY FLUIDITY.' This quote accompanied the teaser trailer, promising a level of growth and self realisation that this highly stylised film, directed, written and edited by Wang Yu, is such a great vehicle for. Upon rewatching, it has fully realised through carefully considered tableau the nature of the intimate romance of being ‘in the zone’ constantly clashing with the unnatural isolation we are all facing; being paralysed on the floor while your self reflection refracts into a hall of mirrors, catching yourself watching this play out in your head. The sounds are distorted and all too intimate, the blurring of diegetic and non diegetic suggesting a new set of rules that we don’t know yet. The digital application of sexuality through the cgi centipedes - it is not gendered, it is simply itself. It slides effortlessly with oscillating drum sequence contrasts against emotional synth, just a bit too perfect to alarm you and make you engage with it. An eerily reflective shell contrasting the warped world of nondescript mannequins as a runway for the models ‘in the mind’ is an apt metaphor for our thoughts creating our reality and finding something altogether unfamiliar as what we knew bends and contorts. This is a fascinating and auteur-driven turn by a designer investigating this new world through the contrast of glossy emotion and instinctual evolution. Shows and presentations like this are why London Fashion Week is regarded as a breeding ground of daring and innovation
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London Fashion Week
- Fashion and Textiles
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- Arts and Culture
