Haizhen Wang (Q4217)
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Haizhen Wang is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Haizhen Wang |
Haizhen Wang is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Haizhen Wang staged a memorable return to the runway at Shanghai Fashion Week last October with one of the week’s most engaging collections, so it was a surprise when his name was absent from the fall season lineup this past March.Like many of his colleagues in China and across the globe, Wang is facing challenges running an independent label. “I had some issues after last season,” said the designer, reporting that an internal shuffle with his staff, together with slower sales (in line with many of his peers in Shanghai), forced him to delay this fall collection. “I had to pay attention to managing the business,” he added. Now, Wang is rethinking his pace: “I felt so tired after last season and after the pandemic, and I wanted to take the time to concentrate in real design and in developing techniques.”While he’s presenting this collection slightly off-schedule, he hopes to return to a regular cadence in October, with his business back in order. To accomplish this, he put together a tighter, concept-driven lineup to inform his commercial collection, and has enlisted a new team to help him develop a digital direct-to-consumer strategy on T-Mall. DTC is the move with designers of late, and it’s something that Wang is counting on to help reinvigorate his business.As for the collection itself, Wang is a deft technical designer who thoroughly enjoys making clothes. This was on display in a lineup that borrowed liberally from Madame Grès (many images of her work appeared on Wang’s mood board), with a sprinkle of the late ’80s and ’90s in the silhouettes. “The idea was to build a structure around the body and start pleating and layering by hand, focusing on the hip and waist and building out the silhouette with padding where needed,” he said. A trio of fabulous draped little black dresses will be easy hits with his more upscale customers, while the playful criss-cross halter neck details on slips and bodysuits will speak to a digitally savvy audience. This is where experience matters: Wang is weathering a storm, but he’s shown that he can, when need be, do more with less.
4 June 2024
“That’s just Haizhen Wang, he’s been around forever and it’s always good.” So said a colleague last night a few hours after Wang presented his spring 2024 collection. It wasn’t an overstatement—the Chinese designer has been doing this for over a decade, having founded his label in 2011 after graduating with an MA from Central Saint Martins and working at the likes of All Saints and Max Mara. He’s something of a stalwart here in Shanghai, though his presentation last night marked his return to the fold after a few seasons away.Having stopped showing runway collections during the Shanghai lockdown of 2022, Wang returned to the main stage of Shanghai Fashion Week yesterday to thunderous applause. He titled the collection “See You Again,” but, when prompted backstage, rather than wax poetic about his return, he talked fashion: “I’ve been thinking a lot about the ’80s,” he said. “You see it on the shoulder line, the waists, and the button placement on the tailoring,” he said. “The flash of the end of the ’80s and early ’90s fashion, when I studied in the UK, had the most impact on my work at the time.”That much was clear, but this was not an ’80s redux. Instead Wang modernized the decade’s most recognizable cuts in a lineup grounded by black and white (“I’m just not really good with color,” he said with a chuckle). The power shoulder was balanced by a contemporary nipped waist and structured hourglass silhouette on jackets, and made lighter on cocktail dresses by a concave sleeve construction. Appreciably more engrossing was his draping, which he showcased on beautifully shirred LBDs, going-out tops, a playful silky bustle worn under a corset, and a fantastic Galliano-esque (with a side of Westwood’s mini-crini) crumpled cloud-like skirt. The closing frocks were particular knockouts: two versions of a diagonally gathered silk structured bodice cut into a pair of long-sleeve dresses, one white and one black. They were prim lady and cool It-girl in equal doses.The pandemic caused substantial economic and social disruptions across Shanghai last year, and everywhere this season designers, show producers, and PRs have touched on its impact, emphasizing how hard it has been for the fashion community to put itself back together. Wang is one of the designers who seems to epitomize the industry’s resilience.
11 October 2023