The Chinese-born, Australian-bred and english-educated designer Yang Li presented his 2015 autumn winter collection in Paris yesterday around noon. The designer, who launched his eponymous label at the age of 23 back in 2011, has been one of the most highlights these past few years. His educational background at the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London (before dropping out eventually) and first-hand interning experience at Raf Simons in Antwerp contribute, without a doubt, to his steadily mounting success.
The quite compact space of Salle Melpomène at École des Beaux Arts was dominated by vertically-standing bright neon lights for the show. Transformed, you can barely notice the ornate paintings on the ceiling of the city’s best fine arts school. The first sequences was a tension and romance, yards of raw-edge satin were showed circuit of maximalism, from a rose gold trench into flared evergreen smock dresses. Classic shapes and grand silhouettes were toyed with. Trapeze jackets were unified with industrial materials, fluid trousers featured unfinished edges, floor-sweeping skirts had loose threads and elongated shirt jackets comprise some layering. Yang Li equally knows how to play with fabric. Organically creased trench coats possessed textures that (literally) look like crumbled paper, making them rather stiff-looking but all the while wearable. The womenswear dominated the show but the twenty-something designer has made a habit of including men’s pieces each season, both are presented together thus resulting in coherent story-telling. Yesterday’s show was also the case.
Yang Li’s designs are always, to a certain degree, dramatic and romantic in a way and this season’s no different. By now, even though he hasn’t been around for very long, we’ve come to recognise his signatures styles and his visions. As the designer shyly came out and waved after the finale, the audience applauded – knowing he’s here to stay for a while. (Text Aishanatasha Adisasmita)