HUISHAN ZHANG PRE FALL 2024 BACKSTAGE VIDEO

This season is an exploration into coming of age. The idea of what adulthood feels like to the inexperienced (and what youthfulness feels like to adults). Inspired by 90s classics like Cruel Intentions, the Pre-Fall 2024 collection explores how a wardrobe –and the language of couture – can reflect the complexities and nuance of character.

Self-expression is essential. And daywear might be the most inclusive way of
showing this. That’s where the collection starts this season. Think corseted denim dresses with matching overshirts. Polka dotted tulle. Bomber jackets handled in embroidered lace. Monochromatic neoprene. Cashmere cardigans over broken-stripe shirt dresses.

The palette is just as transportive. The pastel blues and soft yellows of childhood. The indigos and bright whites of adolescence. The siennas, blacks and khakis of adulthood. But it’s used throughout the entire collection – applied in unexpected ways – to challenge archetypes and expectations of identity.

Surface decoration is used in a similar way. Embroideries and embellishments are pulled from the codes of eveningwear; couture-like embellishment adorn denim jackets, cheongsam dresses and floor-sweeping gowns with equal weight. It’s a merging of day and evening to demonstrate the freedom of the modern wardrobe, and the opportunity to be as classic or unexpected, playful or serious, soft or powerful, young or experienced as you wish – at any age.