Feng Chen Wang materializes her grandmother’s memories in new SS24 collection

Feng Chen Wang summoned us to the courtyard of the Lycée Collège Montaigne to show us her new SS24 collection. The Chinese designer based in London knew that the day was going to be absolutely hot, so it was a detail that upon arrival there were fans to combat the heat for each of the attendees.

42 photos

The music group Nara Bara livened up the arrival of the guests, and provided the soundtrack to a fashion show that was inspired by Feng Chen Wang’s childhood memories of her grandmother. The designer materialized those memories into the SS24 pieces using an ancient botanical method of contact printing. Working with local Chinese artisans, Wang selected some of her grandmother’s favorite plants, such as onions, gallnuts, eucalyptus and apple leaves, and printed them on traditional Chinese silk. In this way, the colors, shape and silhouettes of each botanical motif are clearly imprinted on the fabric.

“Some memories are very profound but somewhat vague, perhaps even mixed with some of my imagination, but my creative process shows a sense of colour change with a strong emotions”, Wang says. The traces of botanical motifs on the fabric are the same as those that memories deeply rooted leave. That feeling is so strong that the symbols of love that Wang’s grandmother had are also recurring in this collection. Dragons and phoenixes appear through jacquard print and water wash in denim, gray and khaki.

Silk is the main fabric in new Wang season, appearing in shirts and shorts, and sheer organza jackets. Pure cotton appears in denim pieces and T-shirts. Wool suits with the botanical method of contact printing bring a new sophistication to the designer’s universe. It is a purely manual process between Wang and local artisans. It requires several rounds of dyeing to achieve the desired color. Chinese and Western styles come together in a decidedly contemporary fusion.

Just as great memories transcend time and space, Feng Chen Wang’s SS24 collection comprehensively chronicles emotional moments of memory. Her new collection uses the past to preserve a love of tradition. So pure that it is impossible for it to die.

For more on the new Spring/Summer 2024 collections, click here.