SHIATZY CHEN AUTUMN-WINTER 2024/2025 COLLECTION
Scene of Ink
Paris, France - The SHIATZY CHEN AW24/25 runway show is unveiled at the famous centre for contemporary art in Paris, the Palais de Tokyo, on March 4 at 14:30 Paris time. Upon entering, splashes of ink change in gradation as per the five tints of ink, charred, heavy, strong, light and pale blacks, visually magnificent and breathtaking.
Design Director Shiatzy Chen begins her story based on the four treasures of the study indispensable to initiating Oriental art and passing on writing culture. Starting from the ink slab and the grounding of the ink slab, we watch as the ink dye spreads widely and endlessly like rain, river and ocean, heavy and light, far and near, ever-changing. Inspired by the spreading, flowing and dying of the ink on the Xuan paper, this collection turns the concept into different patterns and craftsmanship with "flower within flower" as the overarching theme; amidst the embroidered ink blossoms on the clothing and handbags, the jade ink orchid is embellished casually as the highlight of the collection, delving into the depth of Oriental culture as well as exploring the essence of ink marks.
Analysing the scene, the horizontal and vertical ink slabs float weightlessly to form the sky as the small puddle of translucent black ink forms the ground. Both the sky and the ground expand along the runway as if raining a poetic drizzle of ink, forming the rhythm of the show with elegance, depth, richness, saturation and nourishment. At the beginning of this collection, we see clean-cut and rectangular silhouettes echoing the shape of the ink slab, with the contour also meticulously focusing on the cutting of the 1960s Western-style suits embedded with the unique craftsmanship of SHIATZY CHEN developed over 46 years. We see suits highlighted as the fundamental style this season, combining Western fabric with Oriental technique in coupled Western and Oriental corresponding versions of the same concept, again manifesting how seamlessly SHIATZY CHEN has grasped the fusion of East and West.
Overall, the abundance of ink-coloured clothes this season is sensually stunning. In the details, the gold yarn hidden within black metallic jacquard demonstrates layers of ink inundated with energy; the Oriental-style embroidery layered on Western ribbon creates the effect of piled ink as the black tassels adorned with black wool and mohair interpret the dramatic effect of ink blossoms that fall in place to compose an interplay of stillness and motion. The ink, moreover, is more than just the black. Delving into the Oriental culture, we find the Ming Dynasty artefact "Ink Collection" to be an array of colours from gold on black to emperor purple and jade green, further emphasising the unique quality of peace and calm of the ink. The accessories see a revisit of the virgule heels classic to SHIATZY CHEN with hexagonal metallic grille toes matched with jade bangle handbags embellished with jade ink orchids; such layering brings order to the show in different tints of ink.
The AW24/25 is like an avant-garde ode to the scholarly. Dots, streaks and dashes narrate the symbolic meaning of ink to culture, penetrating and influencing gently yet energetically, developing for SHIATZY CHEN a new season filled with possibilities for distinctive individuality.
Runway Looks
Photo: Press Shiatzy Chen
More on: @shiatzychen
By Senior Fashion Editor 24FashionTV: Christina V Henningstad @christina_henningstad