XU ZHI AW20 ‘Prelude’ collection at London Fashion Week
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fashion industry transformed its iconic Fashion Week into a digital platform. By hosting a series of virtual presentations and events, the audience was entertained with a plethora of compositions and styles produced by divergent designers. Significantly, brand XU ZHI revealed its latest Autumn/Winter 2020 collection called ‘Prelude’ in a video presentation that captured a series of modern and glamorous looks. XU ZHI made effective use of transitioning settings in its digital stage to reinforce the distinctly unique aesthetics of their newest collection.
The shift in the backdrop of the digital presentation from the barren underground to an extravagant apartment aptly encapsulated the overall theme and image of their current collection. From the very beginning of the video, the brand juxtaposed the model’s dazzling and modern tassel dress with the worn-out setting of the night underground. This gave an impression of timeless apparel that could be worn regardless of place and time. As more models exhibited their exceptionally stylish and clean looks, the audience was introduced to an elevator, which led to the setting of a ground-level city. Here, the models unveiled various looks ranging from casual outfits to a patchworked coat and a fringed top. The overall effect was an assemblage of voguish and modern aesthetics which highlighted the allure of city life. The audience was then directed to an opulent apartment via another elevator, where the models wore a mixture of soft knits with a thicker combination of fabric, giving a simultaneously comfortable and refined appearance. Hence, the background of the video presentation enclosed the modish essence of XU ZHI AW20 collection.
Some of the prevalent themes of the womenswear part of the collection seemed to be elegance and sophistication, with the backdrop of the city accentuating a classy look from their recent collection. Many long flowing dresses coupled with shining layers of thin fabric produced a toned-down and a tastefully polished image. The colour scheme of the collection presented harmonious pairs – white-cream and beige-brown – as well as independent players – green, orange and black. Other models showed a more charismatic look through straight-lined trousers and gown-like coats and jackets, giving an impression of a poised urbanite. In the final scene of the digital presentation, the models appeared on a rooftop of an apartment block. Both male and female models were dressed in a mixture of formal wear; suite-like garments were worn by the women, underlining the metropolitan feel of XU ZHI’s newest collection.
Similarly, menswear displayed the epitome of modernity and urban aesthetics. The first look involved a grey denim-looking coat, which embedded both elements of refinement and subtle casualness. A few of the subsequent male outfits exhibited a semi-casual aesthetic with loosely fitting trousers and beige-grey-toned outerwear. The brand continued to demonstrate the wear-anywhere style of their recent collection with one model wearing loosely fitting black pants with a suit-like jacket and a white top with bottom fringes. In the final scene, one model was styled in an avant-garde manner, only wearing a beige-brown scarf and grey trousers. This experimental look perhaps strived to destabilize the conventional boundaries between a ‘casual’ and ‘formal’ wear, highlighting how XU ZHI AW20 collection could be worn exquisitely, regardless of the occasion.
XU ZHI evoked a pleasant surprise from the audience through their distinctly modern and admirably captivating style in their AW20 season. Their video presentation truly illuminated the delightfully graceful looks of their latest collection, which could be worn and styled in a multifaceted fashion to suit different occasions.
