Samuel Gui Yang

CHINA IS FINALLY THROWING ITS HAT INTO THE RING OF EAST-MEETS-WEST DESIGN. SHANGHAI FASHION-WEEK DARLING SAMUEL GUI YANG MARRIES THE DICHOTOMY WITH APLOMB

Like so many Chinese designers today, Shenzhen-raised Samuel Gui Yang went overseas — to Central Saint Martins — for his undergraduate and postgraduate education. Bringing fresh perspective to the somewhat overplayed notion of East meets West, the London-based Gui Yang imbues his Western training with a Chinese influence and marries his fascination for the human form with his interest in tradition.

Gui Yang’s work has captured attention in Milan, Los Angeles, Paris and London. His initial presentations took the form of art installations, his garments encased in giant blocks of ice as female dancers pulled, tugged and danced in Gui Yang’s rubber pieces — demonstrating the way the human body interacts with rubber as the skin heats up and begins to perspire.

Recently, Gui Yang has shown at Shanghai Fashion Week with Labelhood, continuing to work with the human form as well as the interchangeability of Chinese heritage with his

own design language. Manipulating elements of traditional garb, from the button clasps to the qipao collar, Gui Yang reinterprets these rich cultural codes in each collection. For spring/ summer 2019, his pieces seek inspiration in the Ming vase — the shape frequently considered by many as the ideal for the female body. Working with a palette of muted and dark blues, greys and whites, traditional button knots and collars are contrasted with strong, modern lines and proportions. Zaneta Cheng