LFWSS25 - Henry Lee of PROJECTbyH Tells Us About Fashion of the Future
As the creators and hosts of an AI fashion show, the designers behind PORTAL:M are very much in the now. We spoke to Henry Lee of PROJECTbyH on the creative, technical and philosophical process behind this cutting-edge show.
DAISY: Would you mind talking me through this installation? What were your aims and intents?
HENRY LEE of PROJECTbyH: Yeah absolutely. So, this project's name is ‘Reincarnation’. What we do is very traditional, we handmake everything. The concept that we wanted to create was everything natural, and everything within our studio. We don’t outsource anything, we hand dye and we only use natural materials. So it's a very strict conceptual creation. We’re really far away from the new technology and the 3D or AI movements. So when they reached out to us and we started talking I figured it's quite fun for us to actually step out of our comfort zone and create something different. We wanted to make something that's within our concept whilst also being a collaboration. Are you familiar with the movie The Matrix? So basically what we wanted to do was: if our world is very traditional and their world is one of super technology then what if we, ourselves or our mind, reincarnated and transformed into this new world but within this core concept? So that's why we wanted to make a baby out of the womb. That's why we made this world. *referring to the video game instillation in which you can manoeuvre around and see the baby in a constructed womb It's like a rebirth.
DAISY: So, in terms of the production process, what did that look like?
HENRY LEE: So we came up with the idea, with sketches and studies, and it transformed step by step to capture the image of a baby and a womb. We wanted to go back to the roots of our concept of figuring out what's garment, what's human. As humans we created garments, you know, no other animals wear clothes. So it's kind of like the egg and the chicken, we - clothes and humans - both exist at the same time. We want to project our garments and textiles as our second skin. It's our protection. It’s our modern kind of perspective of it. So based on that we pitched to them (Portal:M) and asked them to create a 3D Model of our patterns. They scanned it in and were able to form it with their programmes and technology, and that's how everything was created. There were lots of prototypes!
DAISY: Would you say this is your favourite moment of your career so far?
HENRY LEE: I don’t know, I feel like when I was a student I was really inspired by this traditional craftsmanship, you know like avant-garde movements of fashion. You know you deconstructed everything, like Margiela. So I was really inspired by that movement and the whole concept of breaking boundaries and breaking down boundaries. Fashion can be very stale and - I don't want to say boring, because that can be judgmental - but very repetitive. So for us, we always wanted to go back to the concept and really focus on what we wanted to express and what we believe in. In terms of the collection but also our philosophy.
DAISY: How would you describe your work?
HENRY LEE: Our work is always harmonious, never loud. It’s always calm and quiet. But on the other hand, if you happen to like it - it does take a while to filter it and understand it and really click with this. So I feel like there is also an element of fun - when I see art I like, it takes time to understand, sometimes the second, third watch you see more details - that’s our approach, our work isn't just visual, it's also thought-provoking. You can grow with it.
DAISY: What are your plans for the future?
HENRY LEE: I don’t know, just keep upgrading. Keep on making stuff. Exploring more. Crafting and staying true to our concept.
For more, see @portalm.io and @project_byh on Instagram.
Written by Daisy Packwood and Oisín McGilloway
Edited by Holly Anderson, Fashion Editor
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