Kim Shui (Q4938)
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Kim Shui is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Kim Shui |
Kim Shui is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
They say a trip to Paris is life-changing, and Kim Shui’s most recent stint there this summer at the height of men’s Fashion Week may have been the lucky one that inspired her spring 2025 collection. It was perhaps there where the designer became more immersed in menswear, because at tonight’s show, she subtly debuted the brand’s first-ever menswear pieces, worn by, among others, Jake Fleming.It wasn’t just the men Shui was inspired by in Paris, but also Matthew Barney’s “Secondary” exhibition at the Fondation Cartier. There, she saw his terra-cotta sculptures and recalled the ancient Japanese art practice of kintsugi. “The collection started with the idea of kintsugi, the philosophy of broken pottery that is repaired with gold resin coming back stronger,” the designer explained. “It’s more resilient, and I like the idea of it being this unity, that something comes out more beautiful than before.” This evening, Shui did a little bit of kintsugi of her own, taking bits and pieces from her past collections. The Ming-era florals that first got her brand on the map, the fierce Y2K touch from her fall 2023 show, and the whimsical dreaminess of spring 2024 all came together. Corsets were made with patent leather at the waist for that extra-cinched look, while romantic straps grazed the shoulders. Shui’s signature short shorts stayed micro in the back but were given a modest ’60s touch in the front with higher waists and romantic ruffle detailing.But back to the menswear. There was no announcement of its debut in the show notes or in the preview, but judging by the slew of men’s magazine editors invited tonight, one should have had an inkling of what will come later. Shui herself is a beloved icon (check out her Instagram; most of downtown’s cool kids were in attendance on her birthday), always wearing her pieces no matter the occasion, and you’ll find her circle repping the brand as well. Now, as part of this savvy business move, she is opening up her world even more so that everyone can join the party.
7 September 2024
Kim Shui’s fall 2024 collection was all about renewal in honor of 2024 marking the year of the dragon, one of the Chinese zodiac’s most coveted signs, with births spiking every 12 years among citizens who deem the mythical creature to be a symbol of power and good luck, traits that Shui wanted her collection to represent. “The funny thing about the dragon is that out of the 12 zodiac animals, it’s the only one that is mythical,” she said. “And I wanted the [Kim Shui] women to embody that mother dragon energy.” Shui took that both figuratively and literally, using lucky colors like red and green throughout her collection and creating furry oversized trapper hats reminiscent of the dragon costumes that are worn during the Lunar New Year. Elsewhere there were nods to her earlier collections, like the black cap-sleeved dragon dress that made its rounds on the internet following the fall 2022 show, but now in sleeveless options. The only difference between the two is that Shui now has options for her customer base who matured with her.In perhaps a strategic business move, we saw an exploration of the designer creating pieces unfamiliar to the world of Kim Shui. Essentials like bodysuits that doubled as blouses when styled with bottoms, a new range of outerwear meant for the cold weather, and leather bags were a few of the items customers can add to their collections. With Shui’s pieces being on the more accessible side of luxury fashion and her loyal allegiance from fans, maybe Kim Shui can become a household fashion name.
9 February 2024
Kim Shui grew up in Italy. While for Americans it’s a vacation destination we would dream of going to, for Shui it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Instead, the designer faced racism from her neighbors and classmates, marking a hurtful wound from her motherland. But these days, Shui is a CFDA/Voguefinalist and one of the next generation of American designers making their mark in fashion. She has an A-list clientele of celebrities who wear her pieces, including Blackpink, SZA, and Kiko Mizuhara. Tonight she re-created her version of Italy at Manhattan’s oldest Italian restaurant, Barbetta. “I chose this space because of my Italian upbringing, to have that and have the clothes in the setting, and to re-create my version of Italy that I had in my mind,” said Shui.This was the most whimsical collection that’s come from Shui thus far. In her dreamworld of Italy, she found a perfect balance of her Asian heritage and mixed it with la dolce vita lifestyle. Some pieces used mud silk, a sacred fabric in China, on more Western silhouettes like corsets and cinched-waist blazers. Iterations of qipaos were made of lace and satin and featured a revealing cutout at the chest.If last season Shui was designing for the girl who cared more about an Instagram moment, this season she also kept in mind the customers who want to buy investment pieces. Hemlines came in varying lengths so that the party girl who wants to take the subway to the club can do so with more peace of mind. But of course, it wouldn’t be a collection from Shui if there wasn’t a shock factor. Bralettes were tiny and covered just enough not to get a public lewdness charge in New York City, while lace trims covered everything that needed to be except for the logo’d Kim Shui underwear. There was also a floral-print dress for everyone, maybe even a Kardashian-Jenner sister if they ever have another wedding to go to in Portofino.Shui’s work may not be for everyone. But one thing that’s certain is the people who love her clothingloveit. Her models always strut confidently, ensuring those watching the show from the front row know what they’re missing out on.
10 September 2023
Kim Shui’s fall 2023 show was ultra sultry, ultra sexy, and ultra ’90s, reminiscent of Baby Phat, the brand by Kimora Lee Simmons (who sat front row) that pioneered the idea of unapologetic sexiness on the runways in the early 2000s. But Shui herself is a self-proclaimed shy girl, and a very popular one at that, seeing how hundreds showed up on Superbowl Sunday to support the designer. Her clothing is bold, loud, and statement making, and her fall offering presented the struggles of the inner battle of her public vs. private self. “I’ve always been kind of shy. I rarely post photos of myself, and even at my first runway, I just came out and waved hi. I know other people stand there longer and even walk all the way down the end of the runway, but I don’t do that. But my outfits are the opposite. They’re statements, and sometimes I want my outfits to speak for me.” said Shui.Skin and nudity were more prevalent this season than in others. Clear PVC snakeskin embossed trenches symbolizing the shedding of the skin were worn with lace-up mini skirts (actually supposed to be belts) and showcased the derriere, making for a “look back at it” moment. Bedroom essentials like babydoll negligees and see through lace catsuits were styled with heels and furry rave boots to create what Shui hopes will become the “it looks” of the season. For those who need a bit more coverup, faux fur trimmed coats and rear covering asymmetrical dresses and skirts were some of the practical options.Despite their occasional impracticality, the clothes didn’t hinder the models’ confidence. All strutted with heads held high and attitudes on display, even if some skirt mishaps happened along the way. Many audience members gave nods of appreciation, including ex-Gossip Girlactors, currentBling Empirestars, and an array of influencers and stylists. After all, Shui does have a legion of fans who obsessively buy her party clothes with the intention of being sexy. For the finale, Shui walked out in a version of the hot pink bandeau and pants from the collection and did a full lap of the runway. Like the snakes referenced in her opening look, Shui seems to be shedding a layer.
13 February 2023
“The identity of the Kim Shui girl is winged, much like the dragons that adorn her garments, unbound.”That sentence appeared in the first paragraph of Kim Shui’s spring show notes, but the words felt dissonant when compared with her runway. These clothes didn’t really soar, and some pieces were burdened with elaborate details (see, for example, sleeved tops—one sleeve short, one sleeve long—with big bell cuffs on each). The slow soundtrack and slow-moving models did little to add energy.There were some high points, though. One notable choice was Shui’s inclusion of fitted, silver-tasseled pseudo-capelets (“football gear”). They were interesting, in a good way. Another was a relatively simple-in-shape dress with gathered cap sleeves. Its twist was that it was printed with 784 crowdsourced images, creating an ostensible social media grid on the garment. It was the most engaging look in the entire lineup—sadly, there was only one example that included the motif.The irony of the above is that, in observing the crowd, the “Kim Shui girls,” there is a sense of winged confidence and edginess among her fan base—and maybe they will respond to this catwalk offering once it hits shelves. Upping the energy and tightening the conceit would have helped, however.
13 September 2022
Kim Shui was creating sexy, sheer mesh pieces with cutouts and lacing long before they became the phenomena they are now. Today there’s a cadre of young female designers pushing this kind of empowered femininity, so it wasn’t a surprise to see Shui explore different angles of her aesthetic for fall, using a wider variety of materials and techniques.The crowd favorites seemed to be the sheer black tops with sequined dragons that closed the show, but what was newest were the tweed looks, many accented with faux fur, with which it opened. At first glance the designer’s references would seem to be 1990s Chanel andClueless, yet Shui said she was looking back at her earliest collections and returning to fabrics and stories she felt she hadn’t fully explored.Shui may see this collection as a return to form, but most people will likely see it as a slight change of direction—or directions. She might have focused more deeply on fewer ideas. The car-wash cuts in lace fell like tentacles around the models’ legs, and it would have been interesting to have those organic shapes explored more directly. Plus it was a bit of a tease to get just one devoré velvet look.While that particular dress had a polish and dressiness akin to that of last season’s showstopper, a rose-print dress worn by Azealia Banks, much of the fall collection was rawer. Textures were rougher, with some unfinished hems and exposed seams. The latter were the key to this collection. Shui explained that she was in an introspective mood and wanted to turn her woman “inside out.” The reveal here was as much, or more in some cases, about the construction of the garment than of the wearer. This wasn’t a prim collection by any means, but models in flipped Barbie hairdos and satin shoes tipped the scales a bit away from the audacious and toward the flirtatious.
12 February 2022
Spring, summer, fall, winter: It’s always the season of skin at Kim Shui. Today there is a whole school of women designing body-con clothes for the female gaze, but Shui was one of the first female designers to bring sexy back to fashion.A Western theme was introduced with the first exit, with chaps made of material more commonly seen on cheongsams. Observing how many designers have borrowed from Asian cultures, Shui said she decided to turn the tables and look at Americana through an Eastern lens. It’s an interesting intellectual approach that made for a strong opening, but was dulled through reiteration on the runway, where the “ride-em cowboy” theme started to look more fetishy than fashiony.Like many designers this season, Shui toyed with the Y2K aesthetic. Her collection included rhinestone logo tops á la Bebe or Baby Phat, but it was the bedazzled dresses, some beaded by hand, that looked new within the context of Shui’s past work. Also fresh was the casting; the designer asked some of her “Asian female creative friends” to walk, which was a beautiful show of strength, solidarity, and sisterhood.There might have been more of Shui’s signature psychedelic-printed mesh looks in the audience than on the runway, but the ones that made it looked strong. An ensemble consisting of a halter tunic and wafty pants with drawstrings at the ankle mixed prints and textures in a winning way. But it was florals—in different fabrics and scales—that predominated this season. A rose-print dress with a cutout engineered to reveal a jeweled thong strap was racy, but the last took the mix of raunch and romance to new levels. The finale dress, a soft, pink, ankle-length halter worn with attached sleeves that left the shoulders bare and a sparkling waist-cincher was presented majestically on Azealia Banks to the tune of her songF--k Him All Night. The crowd went wild. Only the roses blushed. “Everyone wants to feel sexy and hot,” declared Shui.
12 September 2021
No matter the season, Kim Shui’s clothes celebrate the body and what might be described as an extroverted sexuality. Yet the designer’s decision to soldier on with confident exhibitionism in the face of the pandemic gave her spring collection a rebellious quality. For fall, that’s been replaced with something new and unexpected: an aspect of interiority.Shui uses the word “softness,” and that’s certainly present in the clothes, such as a draped, slit midiskirt, and the elastic materials, like mesh and crushed velvet, that were chosen with comfort in mind. Still, it’s the conceptual framework that takes the fall collection somewhere new.What does a diehard party girl do, where does she go, when the music has stopped and the lights have been turned on? She escapes into an imaginary world of her own creation, suggests Shui. “It was really about just trying to bring all that sensory energy from the outside world into the pieces,” she said on a call. “There’s this more psychedelic and fantasy element to a lot of the clothes.” Ditto the headpieces, inspired, the designer notes, by those in Chinese paintings and embellished with the metal rings she used in constructing garments this season, as well as racier hardware like nipple clamps.Tie-dyes and swirling patterns contribute to the trippy theme Shui was after, but it’s her use of solids, inspired by a stretch satin, that’s of note. Cutouts are the main story here. They’re a recurrent theme in Shui’s work, and she takes care considering “what parts are exposed to the external world and what is kind of hidden at the same time. Different locations was something that I was looking at,” she said. There was a lot of attention given to the “under boob” area for fall; leggings with circles cut down the front of the leg looked like a hit.Shui designs for women who project strength and confidence in social situations, and the designer confirms that her customers are still sharing their party personas via social media. Fall’s collection might be described as a house party, in the sense that it considers the inner fantasy life of a party girl. This season, Shui’s cutouts seem intended to reveal, not to expose.
18 February 2021
The hotness of Kim Shui’s spring collection is something that cannot be attributed to global warming. This designer is known for making sexy clothes for women of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, and she feels that it has never been more important to make her customer “feel strong and powerful and sexy [in] herself.” The spring collection, Shui notes, is “not meant to be for a male gaze.”The tropical prints are perfect for an imaginary getaway. These freer looks mingle with other more controlled ones with laced corseting details. “I wanted this like a Billabong surfer vibe,” with “something kind of tied down. It was a contrast between both that I was exploring,” said the designer. It’s a tension that mirrors the lockdown experience, which has many of us dreaming of adventure while staying close to home.The Kim Shui woman has no problem being all dressed up with nowhere to go. Even at a time when social interaction is potentially dangerous, she remains comfortable in her own (exposed) skin. To be clear, Shui is not advocating unsafe behavior. In fact, the documentary-style film she made for the season places emphasis on self-care, and she is careful to note that the participants were her friends and family group. Rather, the designer said her aim is to represent women’s strength in the face of obstacles, their resilience in a time of uncertainty. The jade discs that are worked into some of the pieces are both symbols of protection and a nod to the designer’s heritage.The designer’s hot-no-matter-what message seems really to be getting through. Against expectations, it’s the sexier, rather than the safer pieces, that are most in demand.
17 September 2020
Mood: #OscarsSoWhat. The only event that mattered to the dressed-to-impress crowd that gathered for Kim Shui’s fall show was the one they were at. Everyone seemed ready for their close-up; everyone seemed excited to be there. It’s wonderful to see such an engaged audience, and even more exciting when the clothes live up to the hype, which they did. This collection was a step forward for Shui, who moved beyond the idea that sexy has to mean skin-revealing.Part of that has to do with seasonality, of course. Outerwear is a must for fall, and Shui showed coats in woolly textures as well as her trademark silks. Because not everything was of a so-short-you-can’t-sit-down length, it was possible for the designer to explore a variety of silhouettes. Pants cut to balloon from knee to ankle had a beautiful shape and sense of flow; drawstring sleeves also had a lovely rounded line. Shui said she returned to draping this season; she shouldn’t abandon it. The result was a much more varied—dare I say mature?—take on sexy dressing.“It’s about looking expensive,” said Shui preshow. Not everything did: There were some fit issues and the eyeglass chains were a bit like the ones Fendi showed, but certainly there was more polish and variety. And as ever, a kind of attitude and cool that money can’t buy. You might be able to come a little closer, though, in one of the bedazzled head scarves made out of cut-up tees (some featuring Bruce Lee) purchased in Chinatown. Shui said she had been inspired by New York; her take on the Big Apple had bite.
10 February 2020
You know that endlessly repeated diner scene in the movieWhen Harry Met Sally…, in which a women says to the waitress, “I’ll have what she’s having”? Well, it works to describe the Kardashian effect on fashion. The Kardashian-Jenner clan seems to have the Midas touch that moves merch. An example: Recently Kylie Jenner posted a twinning photo on Instagram in which she and daughter Stormi were wearing Kim Shui. (Props to Jenner for actually buying the clothing.) Apart from the knockoffs that followed, this implicit endorsement has been a boon for the designer, as was apparent at her show today, which featured an exhibitionist front row that included Kehlani, Kitty Cash, Nikita Dragun, and Rico Nasty.Shui does not design for the faint of heart. The first exit, a micromini qipao, might have seemed relatively tame, but believe me, it was an R-rated party in the back, which was open, laced, and revealed a thong and the tops of thigh-high hosiery. After the show, the fun-loving designer explained she wanted to throw some “Eurotrash” references into the mix. Her main preoccupation, however, was a sort of dissection of the qipao, a shape-showing but fairly modest traditional piece. Not in Shui’s hands. The designer, a proponent of sexy dressing, transformed it into a garment of mass seduction. (She said she does not feel it’s appropriation if a person not of Chinese ethnicity wears one.)Splicing is something Shui likes to do, and for spring she hybridized the qipao and the corset, while at the same time mixing materials; pairing, say, a snakeskin pattern with a Ming-era floral. Because there were many iterations of similar designs in different colorways or fabric combinations, the tie-dyed mesh pieces (which were a bit à la Gaultier) offered a welcome respite from the parade of wovens. Less—as Shui demonstrated in many revealing ways—is often more.
11 September 2019
The fallout from the #MeToo Movement has affected the fashion industry, as designers and critics have examined and reexamined the ways women now dress and present themselves to the world. Kim Shui was struck by the one-sidedness of the matter, specifically those modest prairie dresses dominating the conversation. “There’s not enough sexy on the runway anymore, in my opinion,” she said. “On Instagram, there’s sexy and there are women who want to dress sexy. I wanted to provide those women the option to feel covered if they want, or to feel sexy and show skin if they want to, as well.” Shui went on to note that this sort of raw sex appeal has more often been the domain of male designers; she’s here to offer up a woman’s point of view on the matter.Provocation has always been part of the Kim Shui equation, and this season she went further, perhaps to please the very raucous crowd of Instagram peacocks that filled her front row. “I keep pushing it more and more and more,” Shui said, laughing. There was the snakeskin and chintzy brocade she loves, as seen on an outrageous brocade coat with faux fur sleeves that looked like something your kooky aunt might have picked up at a flea market in the ’60s. Alongside them, a few beaded taffeta blouses evoked the same thrift shop air, though Shui’s came with corset boning and saucy cold shoulder cut-outs.Tie-dye, always a winner, figured largely in the collection, as she recast many of last season’s highlights in this more kaleidoscopic palette. Fall’s version of the excellent silk leopardqipao, for instance, was a tie-dye velvet number guaranteed to be a hit. Additional highlights included a beautiful lime green cowboy shirt, cut from floral habutai silk, and a tiny top and skirt in the same acidic ’70s shade, plus knit Marcia Brady–like tights printed with the English wordlostand the Chinese word fordemon. A case might be made for a touch of editing. Those moments when Shui did Shui stood out sharply, but there was a great deal of noise around them. A tighter grip on the whole show would help make the message more clear.
9 February 2019
Kim Shui is going places, and fast—from a guerrilla-style takeover at Century 21 just one year ago to a fully produced runway show at Chelsea Piers tonight, supported by the slew of cool singer-fans (Kelela! Kelsey Lu! Rina Sawayama!) whom she’s picked up along the way. With it, the designer has hit a nice stride. The clothes are still cool and a bit “thotty,” for lack of a better word. (Not a bad thing, by the way! The models’ python kitten-heeled flip-flops were super fun.) But Shui continues to pay careful attention to the construction in a way that elevates each piece—thotful, if you will.Spring 2019 dealt with unraveling. In essence, Shui played with deconstruction and reconstruction, specifically working with a reference to tie-dye. It meant twisting—along the neckline or right at the center of a lovely tangerine silk dress that was sliced on both sides. There was also a very neat unraveling of her own Chinese background: half a slim qipao collar run along the top of an asymmetrical polka-dot number, or a pale cheongsam silk bustier and hot pants set. “I was looking at the relationship between the native and the foreign, imagining new combinations and transformations of materials,” she said. The standout was a leopard-print cheongsam, cut from a crushed velvet and piped with neon yellow. A real winner.
7 September 2018
Kim Shui staged her first runway show in a blank gallery space, sporadically lit by fluorescent blue tubes—the better to keep the focus on the clothes, she said, whose fluidity and form have never been done justice by still photos. Like many of her peers, the Central Saint Martins–trained designer was affected by the unpredictable state of the world right now. “This is the Kim Shui girl taking on the extreme, as in our extreme reality today,” she explained. “Politically, environmentally, and everything.”Her clever response took its shapes from extreme sporting gear and outsize puffer jackets in particular. It felt well timed, given the athletes competing in Pyeongchang at the Winter Olympics. Yet the pieces fit seamlessly into Shui’s existing oeuvre, which, as she put it, “has always been about that line between what’s tasteful and what’s not.” There were quarter-zip pullover knits in a shiny blue Lurex, with matching pants that shimmered blue, then green, as the model walked. Most promising were the sculptural coats, a specialty of Shui’s given greater focus this season: intricate layers of sky blue puffer that peeled away from the body, or a grandma-esque floral brocade embellished with noxious green fur. The latter garment came with detachable puff arm warmers the color of boiled peas, attached to the coat by delicate silk strings.Nods to Shui’s heritage came through in the changshan-style closures of floral and houndstooth plaid wrap tops, though most noteworthy was the casting. It was a beautiful celebration of Asian women, the likes of which one too rarely sees in fashion, from a range of countries and of different shapes and ages (beloved fashion figureJane Shuai of New Top jewelrywalked, stirring much delight on social media). “I just wanted something really diverse and to have that representation,” said Shui. Judging by the reaction, it has been long overdue, and we look forward to seeing more of it from her next season.
11 February 2018