HUISHAN ZHANG SPRING SUMMER 2023 RUNWAY SHOW

The classical romance of past seasons make way for a more graphic approach to silhouette as HUISHAN ZHANG looks to the near future for spring summer 2023. It’s couture through a utopian lens. Think minimalistic Cheongsams and shift dresses with asymmetric volumes that kick-out at the hip, turning wardrobe classics into new hybrids. Gowns have a simplicity too. Stripped of excess detail, the focus is entirely on the geometric shapes of an A-line or caped silhouette.

The imagined setting for this 22nd-century wardrobe? An advanced metropolis at nightfall with its neon cityscape, which you can see in the palette this season. Reds, greens, oranges and yellows all come electrified. Even HUISHAN ZHANG’s signature use of feathers seems to be lit from within; artificial colour combinations that illuminate skirts, dresses and separates.

Throughout the collection functional zips and tabs are used as ornamentation – new markers of this reduced language. And where more traditional hand-embellishments do appear they read like binary code twinkling as they process on sheer knits, or the crystal and paillette clusters on a series of unlined sequin looks that feel like microchips.

Patterns are also put under the microscope. What was once a tweed is magnified to such a degree that it becomes a macro gingham. While the season’s floral patterns are flattened to such a point that they feel almost photocopied. The inspiration for these prints comes from ‘2046’, a futuristic epic about love, loss and longing that mixes sci-fi with period drama.

“I’ve been feeling very intrigued by the idea of how my vision of women’s clothes will evolve in the future. But I don’t want to wait. I want to find out now.” Huishan Zhang