International Spy Meets Punk at Xander Zhou “I Have a Secret Weapon”
Chinese menswear designer Xander Zhou is part of a new gener-Asian of superstars. The Beijing-based creative was the first menswear fashion designer from China to be part of London Fashion Week Men’s. For fall, Zhou presented a futuristic collection rife with progressive, daring menswear looks. He began by reconstructing classic forms of office wear worn by bankers and presenting them within a new modern context.
The Neo-Wall street looks that emerged reflect a mix of styles: the Golden Boys wardrobe of suits, blazers, ties; Japanese kimono style coats, and Kung Fu martial arts influenced pieces. Zhou also reworked Mao era work wear from the 50s referencing ‘communist chic’ in a dark palette worn with latex gloves. The garments were styled in a playful, dysfunctional way, transforming mundane garments, into transcendent pieces of work wear.
The futuristic styling: such as a silver trench coat worn over a business suit, and cropped shirts worn under even shorter sweater vests is heterogeneous, and conceptual. Xander Zhou’s collections, though ever evolving, are often inspired by youth subcultures, combining elegant forms with a streetwise attitude. His fall 2017 collection was a triumphant celebration of an often misunderstood youth culture. Dark, mysterious and brutal. “We are the new generasian” said Zhou, which was an open-response to Asia’s significant role within Western culture; and the power and influence Asia has today within fashion.
See Xander Zhou’s Fall 2017 Collection
