Susan Fang (Q7968)
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Susan Fang is a fashion house from BOF.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Susan Fang |
Susan Fang is a fashion house from BOF. |
Statements
Speaking with Susan Fang is always a joy—she’s among China’s most promising talents, and her infectious positivity permeates her work. Her latest collection transports us to an ethereal underwater realm where love and light conquer all. “There’s a lot of negativity going on in the world right now, and it makes me sad to think about people losing their homes,” she shared during a preview. “In my research, I found that bubble snails float around in the sea, taking their home everywhere they go—this became the starting point for the collection.”Yeomanry House in Bloomsbury provided the minimalist canvas for Fang’s latest confectionary designs. Laser-cut resin structures, resembling windmills, hung from the ceiling, while a colossal rope bubble-making machine added a dose of whimsy, blowing bubbles down the runway. Models descended the venue’s rear steps, showcasing a burst of sugary tones and delicate textures; including the season’s new “air-whirl” technique, a method where organza is swirled to form architectural constructs reminiscent of crinolines, that remain remarkably lightweight. Pastel-colored down jackets were adorned with stars and clover hearts, and voluminous puffer maxi skirts added dimension to the collection. Elsewhere, intricate beading embellished netted dresses, while strips of hand-stitched tulle formed airy sheer midi dresses and maxi skirts.The collection also featured various collaborations: one with Victoria’s Secret, which will be available exclusively in China, included lace lingerie sets and cotton pajama separate; and another with Nike, where the designer adorned 13 pairs of sneakers—including the Vomero 5, V2K, P-6000, and Air Max Scorpion FK styles—with 3D floral decorations. There were also charming hand-crocheted boots crafted from off-cut materials from previous seasons in a dreamy smörgåsbord of Susan Fang hues.In anticipation of her upcoming nuptials, the designer imbued the collection with a bridal vibe, evident in pieces such as white Broderie Anglaise shirt dresses, and the “air-whirl” finale mini-dress with lilac, baby blue, and black organza, paired with a veil. Fang’s vision, brimming with optimism, is both charming and aspirational; perhaps our world would benefit from more of her outlook.
19 February 2024
Last season, Susan Fang unveiled a heartwarming collection that combined her technical prowess with a talent for translating emotions into garments. Her father’s creation of sci-fi mist wings also added an impressive layer of showmanship. For spring, the burgeoning Chinese designer—who has rapidly gained recognition—explored the role of artificial intelligence in the context of the natural world. She elaborated in a preview, saying, “While there’s a lot of fear surrounding AI, I wanted to romanticize the idea of the robot and how it might connect with the human subconscious.”To convey the notion of idealizing robots, Fang erected a 20-foot architectural structure at the center of her show space. The statue took the form of a winged figure constructed from metal poles and a resilient technical fabric typically used for tents. Explaining her decision to create the gargantuan piece, Fang said, “It symbolizes how technology can be perceived as something sacred—a robotic angel that ascends to assert itself as an object of worship and admiration.”While the structure felt domineering, almost menacing, this season’s garments delivered an endearing softness in contrast. There were opulent transparent lace dresses, as well as separates adorned with AI-generated prints merged with hand-drawn floral illustrations to “maintain a human touch while injecting the electricity of technology.” There was also an introduction to air-weave smocking, a technique that constructs strips of fabrics layer by layer through a blend of mechanics and craftsmanship—further adding to the collection’s theme. It imparted an ethereal, weightless quality akin to drifting smoke, while appearing gracious in motion. The smocking came in the form of flowy skirts and dresses that felt sweet yet ethereal. Broderie anglaise, ruffled tulle, and netted frocks come tiered and with low-slung, skater-style skirts. The showstopper was a 3D dress covered with 600 protruding beads, emulating the silhouette of baby’s breath, meticulously handcrafted by a group of mothers in China.Fang’s expanding accessory line featured futuristic eyewear decorated with bio-inspired flowers and a set of four resin clutch bags. Each bag represented a distinct tone: orange for twilight, pink for rainy days, turquoise for the union of sky and earth, and brown and blue for the spectacle that is observing the sun from outer space.
Sustainability remains at the core of the label’s ethos, with 90% of the materials a blend of imported stock fabrics from its own print factory and surplus from luxury brands. The Susan Fang universe evolves without straying from its values and its delicate, hands-on approach to innovation. Plus the front row dressed head to toe in Fang’s creations was testament to the power of her growing following.
17 September 2023
For fall, Susan Fang—who’s one of China’s most promising emerging designers—drew inspiration from the 1986 children’s bookAmi, Child of the Starsby Chilean author Enrique Barrios. The protagonist of the story is a young boy who embarks on a mission to spread optimism after hearing a message of hope from an extraterrestrial being. “It might be written for kids, but the philosophy behind the book is clear: What unites us all is love,” she stated at a preview. “And since it is the law of the universe, we should all make an effort to love others and be loved in return.”The collection was as joy-inducing as the messaging behind it. There were tiered ruffle separates in pastels adorned with meticulously braided details, multi-colored prairie dresses of voluminous proportions, and hand-crocheted gowns with pearlescent trimmings. Fang produced a custom lace fabric adorned with clover and smiley face motifs, too, which she intended for the wearer to receive “blessings” in. Elsewhere, pajamas were transformed into elegant sets with Peter Pan and Puritan collars with embroidered trimmings.The majority of the collection employed eco-conscious practices, including 3D printed accessories (an extension to Fang’s floral resin bags from last season), and woven laces from repurposed off-cuts. In order to create an assortment of new silhouettes, the designer used leftover yarn, ribbon, and wool from the previous season, which she transformed into crystal-embellished strips. Square-toe slippers were constructed from biodegradable TPU. “It was important for me to consider every material used—the aim, as always, is for nothing to be wasted.” she said.Fang's father, who works in Shanghai’s fire safety department, assisted her in making custom water mist pieces out of metallic frames. These futuristic yet exuberant structures included angel wings, a bouncing crinoline skirt, and a full-length dress that emits a rose-scented perfume. Her mother also continued to assist in constructing the garments, as she had done in the past. The tenderness—from her brand’s ethos and its frothy garments, as well as the support from her family—could be felt in the room.
20 February 2023
Despite being deeply sensitive to the woes of the world, Susan Fang wanted to indulge in positivity for spring. While London is still in a contemplative mood after yesterday’s historic event, the designer’s vibrant creations, which were shown in her trademark confectionery shades and experimental silhouettes, were, to put it mildly, smile-inducing.“To be combative in times of crisis is actually easier, so instead I wanted to challenge myself by exploring feelings of love and peace, as well as the art of letting go of what you can’t control,” Fang said in a preview before her first London runway show. “According to the astrology charts, we’re headed into new planet alignments soon, meaning that there’ll be a more sensual, feminine energy in the world—I aimed to reflect that in the collection.”Fang kept to her ultra-feminine codes, as evidenced by the profusion of tulle, feathers, ribbons, and beaded macramé. There was a variety of separates appropriate for a summer wardrobe, from a painstakingly beaded cut-out dress in dusty rose, to a cream pair of shorts with tiered organza ruffles paired with a baby blue beaded crop top. The designer places great emphasis on print; this time, she printed on gauze with psychedelic painted styles evocative of the 1960s, which appeared in the form of swinging party dresses, cut-out tops and floor-length gowns with voluminous skirts, which also featured sensual slits along the sides.Fang transformed the indoor pool of the Marshall Street Leisure Centre, an impressive 1930s building situated in the middle of London, into a fairy-tale oasis. As models walked across the pool on precariously placed pontoons, there were giant balloons in the middle—which the designer referred to as “peace bombs”—covered in leftover printed fabric from the collection. Perhaps the joyful set-up and colorful garments were exactly what we all needed to see today.
20 September 2022
With her “fairy” aesthetic, Susan Fang is taking fashion into new, and ethereal, dimensions. In doing so she has become part of a sisterhood of designers (that includes Molly Goddard, Simone Rocha, and Cecilie Bahnsen), who are creating unapologetically feminine looks for the female gaze. (At the other end of the spectrum is the growing group of women designing “sexy” clothing for women.) Fang implicitly attributes her affinity for frills and flourishes to fourth wave feminism. “I felt like maybe now we don’t have to use our exterior to prove that we’re equal,” she said on a Zoom from Shanghai, “or it doesn’t have to be something on the surface anymore, and it feels safe enough to just do what we like, like wearing soft clothes wouldn’t mean that we are soft inside.”The designer certainly proved her chops with her spring collection. By applying her light touch to a wider repertoire of materials she underlined the strength of her vision. Air is the element Fang has harnessed, mainly through her air flowers technique (the designer cuts strips of fabric onto which she layers, folds, and stitches more fabric into blooms, creating ribbons of dimensional blooms that can be attached together). She also makes use of transparency, laser-cutting, and spray paint to capture the ephemerality of flowers, the movement of insects and jellyfish, and even water bubbles (see her 3D printed bags).For fall, Fang turned some of her flower strips upside down so that they float like butterflies. She created a marble print (think: paint floating on water) because “we wanted the prints to be less controlled,” and made much use of elastic smocking, because “we always want the garment to feel very free.” Fang uses color and texture as a painter might, and this season’s combinations of smocking and air flowers and of smocking and featherlight knits were winning, while offering a viable alternative to the ever-popular mesh look. The key look is the pairing of a smocked air flower dress with a quilted underskirt. Touches of faux fur also add warmth to the collection.Inspired by her first heartbreak, the making of Fang’s spring collection was, as she put it, “a self healing process.” Having passed through that transitory state, fall finds the designer steady on her feet, and quarantined at home. In turn, this is a collection one can grab onto; it’s more present somehow, closer to the skin, and perhaps to other modes of existence and connection.
During its making the designer woke up from a vivid dream thinking, “maybe in the future our souls can be more free, and then we will be able to turn into the physical form of insects, or jellyfish, or just the wind itself. And then, through those experiences we’ll be more understanding, or we’ll have more empathy, and then we’ll just grow more love for each other.” Given the current news cycle that imagined Eden seems ever more distant, but Fang’s work keeps the dream alive.
9 May 2022
Susan Fang is a highly emotional designer in tune with the tenor of our times, but spring 2022 marks a leap forward for her work. Shown on a lightly misting runway in Shanghai, the collection took texture to extreme and radical new places: She’s created a new material technique of folding tulle she calls “air flower” inspired by broken flowers and sliced fruits that repeats across the body in open-weave, netlike dresses, tightly latticed minis, and explosive, ombré poufs. The pieces are instantly appealing in both a visual way and in a sensory one, thoughtful to the bodies inside them and the observers taking them in.The exuberance and joy in each of Fang’s pieces belies an underpinning of sadness, though; like the best Dutch still life or memento mori, her frilly garments mark a passing of time or encapsulate the multiplicity of time itself. She quotesEinstein’s Dreams, a 2004 novel by Alan Lightman about the creation of the theory of relativity: “Suppose time is a circle, bending back on itself. The world repeats itself, precisely, endlessly.”Her work is almost precise, marked by engineering and repetition, but it’s never without a thoughtful touch. When she speaks about regenesis, self-love, and progress, you get the sense she operates in that special place between science and art. That said, she’s also got a keen business sense: Her popular bead bags are constructed with new 3D printing techniques, which makes them accessible to a broad audience.
25 October 2021