LABEL LOVER

MIAORAN

Born in Shanxi province in 1987, Miao Ran moved to Milan in 2008 to study fashion design at the Istituto Carlo Secoli, where he specialised in pattern cutting, advanced knitting design and draping techniques. In 2013 he completed a master’s degree in fashion design at Milan’s New Academy of Fine Arts. In 2014 he started his eponymous label of gender-blending clothing with oversized proportions and minimal tailored precision. In 2015 he was selected by Vogue Italia as a finalist in its Who is on Next? contest for new designers, both for his men’s and women’s collections. He was also one of the designers chosen by Giorgio Armani to show at Teatro Armani during Milan Fashion Week in 2016. Defined by an eclectic look that blurs the boundaries between genders, Miao Ran’s designs focus on oversize silhouettes and the combination of contrasting materials. Miaoran clothes are unique in the way they straddle the designer’s Chinese roots and his Italian training in tailoring. Asked by Vogue Italia to describe his clothing, Miao Ran said, “Volume, minimalist precision and cultural fusion.” Sums it up nicely, really.