Xander zhou biography
Xander Zhou
Xander Zhou has been developing his signature on London catwalks for years now. Exploring classical tailoring with unexpected twists, the first Chinese designer to be part of London Fashion Week puts it clear: “I do not create art pieces that reduce the wearer to a walking pedestal.” Having studied across continents in China and the Netherlands, his menswear design for Fall 2017 introduces edgy but classy silhouettes, crowned with an avant-garde attitude.
He was discovered thanks to his rainbow pant, but last month in London, Xander headlined Men's Fashion Week Fall 2017. His collection, called I’m Carrying a Secret Weapon, introduces silhouettes that flirt with an imposing body fluidity, composed of course for men. For next season indeed, the designer aims to give space to a man in love with city explorations – a white-collar evolving off the beaten tracks, at least at the end of the day. He infuses a progressive and experimental style into traditional suits, incisive cuts into surprising fabrics. And this is what he prefers to call a “don’t give a fuck-tailoring“. This sounded like a statement of a clear and innovative tailoring, so we wanted to dig in a little deeper.
Who is Xander Zhou's character – is it a boy or a man?
Are you asking about the designer, or about the people wearing Xander Zhou? Actually, both could be best described as boyish men. Boyish, because they have not lost their curiosity, their ability to have fun, and because they are simply young at heart. Men, because they are definitely grown-up in a sense that they are clear about who they are and what they want, and are confident enough to live the life they want. Of course these qualifications also apply to women who choose to wear Xander Zhou.
You often say that your design is an exploration of form and function. Can you expand a little more? How do you understand menswear design?
What I mean is that I find it important to strike a right balance between innov
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MASHA MA
PORTFOLIO
Born: in 1980’s in Beijing
Education: Masha Ma received her MA in Women’s wear from Central Saint Martins in 2008.
Career: She was an assistant to well-known designers Veronique Branquinho and Alexander McQueen. Masha’s graduate collection was selected and shown at London Fashion Week and subsequently purchased by B store, a retail fashion store in London.
Website: http://www.masha-ma.com
Selected Public Commendation
Her designs are known for their futuristic, feminine characteristics, minimalism, use of color white, and industrial and nature influences such as New York City’s Meatpacking District and the crystallized formations of snowflakes (March 8, 2013 style.com)
Selected Public Shows
2012, presented at Fall Winter 2012 RTW Paris Fashion Week
2012, presented at Spring Summer 2013 RTW Paris Fashion Week
2013, presented at Fall Winter 2013 RTW Paris Fashion Week
2013, presented at Spring Summer 2014 RTW Paris Fashion Week
BIOGRAPHY
Ma is a Chinese fashion designer. MASHA MA collection is mainly developed in China and Europe, the diffusion line, MA by MA STUDIO, has been launched in January 2013. MASHA MA has been presenting her AW and SS collection on Paris Fashion Calendar each year. Ma’s femininity is always an effortless combination of modernity and elegance with elaborate line and opulent textiles. Working with her near trademark white at the core, the construction and cut that is fast also becomes synonymous with her name. Masha’s designs have attracted the attention of publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, Pop, Evening Standard and Le Monde, etc.
Fall Winter 2013, Masha Ma
Spring Summer 2014, Masha Ma
XANDER ZHOU
PORTFOLIO
Born: in 1982 in Beijing
Education: Xander Zhou studied industrial Design in China and Fashion Design in the Netherlands.
Career: He established his label in 2007 and is based in Beijing.
Website: http://www.xanderz
Confidential Insight from Xander Zhou
- Jacket and roll neck by Xander Zhou, Gloves by Dents, Tights by Wolford, Earrings by Louise Ferdinando Vintage
What do you pull inspiration from when approaching a design?
I try to document almost on a daily basis the thoughts and feelings I have while seeing or encountering new things. This documentation is not necessarily in a written form, it can also be sketches. But it helps me to record what goes on in my mind in such a way that it helps me remember and keep track of any developments. These "notes" are often the basis when I am designing a new collection. I never have a lack of inspiration - it is literally flowing all the time. So this way of keeping track helps me to sort things out in a more structured way, and build on the structures that I discover.
Key words/phrases to describe yourself?
Loves to fantasise, strong-willed, sensitive, rebellious.
Does your brand represent you, or is it more of a separate entity?
I don’t think I can even properly represent myself, let alone my brand. My brand is only part of who I am. That is also because being a fashion designer is only part of who I am, but each of my collections is a personal reflection on fashion at a given time. So, in that sense, it does represent my thoughts.
Authenticity is big for you. Is it vital to your process?
I like both very authentic and extremely unauthentic things, and the tension between those. Sometimes, they go together very well. I like to play with details of the mundane, so that when I change the slightest things, I can create the biggest effect of turning something authentic into completely inauthentic.
Did you ever expect to have the impact you have left and are still currently imprinting into the industry?
To be honest, I still don't know if I am making any impact and what that impact would be. I do feel that online media platforms are giving me more credit than traditional media, which seems about right. What I s
VISIT THE FUTURE WITH XANDER ZHOU’S FW21 COLLECTION
Xander Zhou takes us on an evolutionary path of his brand with his FW21 collection. Futuristic, extra-terrestrial and humanoid-inspired, Zhou’s show gave us ‘Ex-Machina’ meets menswear fashion vibes.
Presented in a 4-minute short film, Zhou offered a series of looks on a white background, adding to the extra-terrestrial spaceship-vibe of the collection. The film was also accompanied by an alien-esque soundtrack, giving an eerie feeling to this imagined future.
The collection offered an array of waterproof multi-pocketed jackets, nylon shirts, and even an eyeless gazor mask, which were accompanied by short descriptive paragraphs, communicating the names of each look, their composition and production methods. Many of the looks were also finished with protective headpieces by the jewelry brand YVMIN.
Old looks were revisited and revised in this collection, such as the HUMANoidWEAR uniform suit originally seen in Zhou’s FW20 collection. It also offered new outfits, including the Embroidered New World Manifesto suit which was noted to offer ‘good posture’ and ‘great shape’.
The young Chinese designer is constantly renewing his products, stating that they are ‘infinitely updatable’. Each season, garments are revisited and optimized, whether changing his design or materials, for the best possible quality performance. Xander Zhou never fails to deliver his futuristic vision, and we’ll be here for it in 2021 or 3021.
Watch Xander Zhou’s full FW21 collection below.