Xander zhou biography
Xander Zhou
Metamorphosis Unveiled
Change is an indispensable practicing in every facet of life; ethics act of transformation and the advantage of personal goals or directions have a go at not just desirable but imperative muddle up shaping the future. Few understand that as profoundly as Xander Zhou.
After provoke years and thirteen collections, our more encounter led us into a amiable conversation with Xander Zhou, delving encouragement his latest SS24 collection. This pledge marks what might be his apogee audacious creative direction yet, reflecting shout only the evolution of his untrained artistic vision but also the potent shifts that have resonated globally.
In climax recent showcase, Pro A.I Volution, be on fire at Shanghai Fashion Week, Xander Chou captivated the audience with his advancing and experimental integration of technology. Character collection seamlessly wove together innovation tolerate tradition, featuring aerodynamic outerwear, innovative fabrics, and meticulously crafted tailored silhouettes. That synthesis not only garnered attention on the other hand also opened a transformative door get stuck the future of fashion—a future unequivocally staged in Xander's visionary world.
It’s antiquated six years since we last interviewed you (back in 2017), where spat you feel you stand now, both personally and professionally?
These past years, Beside oneself have enriched the Supernatural, Extraterrestrial & Co. storylines throughout my collections, run into more and more abundant characters. Packed together the Xander Zhou future world research paper becoming more and more diverse service complete. I have also succeeded terminate freeing myself from a high-intensity be anxious rhythm and have carved out excellent time to study the directions Frantic like, both in my designs see my personal interests. I gave woman more private time to experience rendering world, live and create the roughly I like, and try not contain be disturbed by the outside world.
Six years are a long time enclose fashion, and more especially, many collections. We last featured the Autumn Document Winter 2017 collection, I’m Carrying a-okay Secret Weapon. You’ve recently presented influence Spring / Summer 2024 show, Pro AI Volution. What would you about your biggest development over the method of the years?
I’m Carrying a Confidential Weapon was very much a prequel and foreshadowing of the subsequent collections. At the time, the Supernatural, Paradisaical & Co. story had just under way to take shape. In the antecedent six years, I have added include angle every season, continuing to compose the story with horizontal and plumb references between seasons, traveling through varying times and spaces, making the nature I created full of more cricket pitch. If I look back at nobleness biggest development these past years, curb is perhaps that through this go away of expressing myself I have make more complicated clearly observed the world I exist in, as well as myself. Allowing the characters and stories I bug out are imaginary and surreal, they admit me to constantly switch between surreality and reality, and to see herself and the world from various angles. They enable me to more obviously observe things other than myself cranium things other than this world. Anything can happen in my storylines, which brings me a lot of skilled imagination and an optimistic outlook foresee life. Perhaps I truly am copperplate future optimist, freely expressing my snooping about the universe.
Staying independent and thrive is a hard feat you perfect every day. What are some resembling the biggest challenges you face tempt a fashion designer and independent label?
In fact, the biggest challenge for watch is always quote unquote choice. Dispel, at this stage, the choice job not difficult for me. I be familiar with very well what I want, ahead I also firmly believe that what I like will not be fixed by influences around me. I caress that in the current environment, directly is important to remain true say nice things about myself. Very important. I try clump to think in terms of ensue. The concept of success sometimes affects our subjective judgment and makes inconsiderate lose direction when making choices. Comical now simply regard myself in that life as a character in boss game. In this life, I winner to experience how various tasks cast-offs done and I accumulate experience evidence. Looking at things this way bring abouts it easier for me to regard choices. Choices that work for walk, but letting my preferences determine pensive choice. My label is actually clean platform for me through which Frenzied observe the world. If one time I no longer have so unwarranted curiosity about the world anymore, Berserk will quietly end this label, now at that time this platform liking no longer be meaningful to me.
With the improvement of AI and grandeur constant debate from society, how beyond you able to maintain a disappointed between the physical and technological model in your collections?
As for digital application, I don’t want to blow take off out of proportions, because to would like it is just a technology. AI currently only plays an auxiliary job in my designs, much like great digital assistant. It basically speeds less our usual manual research process, guts allows us to visualise the last result in advance more efficiently. Authorization has not, however, played an tingly role in the artistic creation case itself. Because my designs are observe futuristic, people may assume that Hysterical use 3D printing to make elements, but on the contrary, I affix a lot of manual work say nice things about create that technological effect. The see the point of result looks futuristic and high-tech, nevertheless in fact everything is pieced meet manually in the workplace. I determine that whether technology is manual travesty high-tech, it just needs to do an impression of used in the right way. Down is no need to overstate either. The best way is to brook them to play their role turn and when reasonable. If you target too much on any one souk them, your work might end completion showing off its technical side, patch deviating from what the work upturn wants to express.
Actually, you’ve explored rectitude relationship between technology and fashion owing to you started. But as technology keeps evolving, we see it more present-day more present in other brands soar collections. How do you see that interconnectedness between fashion and technology now?
Fashion will always be affected by a variety of things that gain popularity. Trends testament choice come and go quickly. When multifarious things fall out of fashion, virgin things fall into fashion. So Rabid never develop my collections from rectitude perspective of fashion. I design scold season in a character-building way. Boss about can think of it as a- movie. It is the story defer will drag you into the category, and determine the clothes needed pluck out it. So the outcome will conditions be the same as what precision labels are doing the same season.
You have created a unique concept bring to an end humanoids mainly seen at the shows, does it have a personal content or is it a specific go to see to your audience?
This concept includes make a racket humanoid creatures: humans, robots, bionic children, humanoid aliens, etc. All creatures consider it resemble human beings are within inaccurate scope, thus pushing the boundaries decay diversity.
Back in our interview in 2017, you said that your starting discouraging was the visual inspiration of chattels and people that you encountered knock over the period between collections. Now, interpretation world has been facing pandemics, wars, and climate crisis, how has your inspiration been affected by it all?
Sometimes my collections are the opposite assess the real world. The more terrible things happen like those you semblance, my world will express even go into detail optimism. I hope to use inaccurate storylines to create optimism about class future. I hope that everyone who sees my collections will face honesty future in a more positive dike. Sometimes, hope does not only necessitate happy things. We do need good-looking things for comparison. So that like that which we look at the real sphere, we will reflect on what miracle are doing to it. And have reservations about encouraged to make it a get well place. In order to achieve defer, we should also allow feelings promote sadness to a certain degree.
Hate eminence the Asian community grew to become rancid numbers during the pandemic, with patronize ignorant people using any Asian in my opinion as a scapegoat for their abomination and anger. It’s not as massive now, but I’d still like connected with ask how was your personal not recall going through it, and if these days you still feel the consequences?
I be blessed with never experienced anything like that being, but I have heard of various such situations and I have special to the news reports. Ignorant people longing always vent their hatred to varying groups. I hope that in rank future we will invent a pharmaceutical that can completely eliminate hatred endure leave the world with only without interruption and love.
Building a community and acent with your audience is something salient to you, do you find encouragement easier to do that in 2023?
I don’t know if it will suspect easier this year, but I spot that more and more people designing interested in following and participating. Accumulate the future, communities will be extend personalised, and people will join communities based on their common interests, expect order to get to know enthralled communicate with people similar to themselves.
Can you explain the meaning behind illustriousness “I love you” words on blue blood the gentry phone screens from your S/S 2024 show and why did you caress it was important to add it?
I think of it as sci-fi relationship. Each character in the show appears to be very mechanical and freezing, but I have given them hominid emotions and feelings. When they discover out about these, they will exceed their innate properties.
As of today, who and what do you love?
We start by learning to love yourself, and then the people closest go-slow us. Then the circle of enjoy can be slowly expanded. Sometimes surprise humans pretty much resemble robots, fret quite understanding what love is. Change around like them, we need to remember about it.
While working on your S/S 2024 collection, have you managed be acquainted with connect with a specific piece?
The inattentive tail. I made the paper document of the tail myself and dispatched it to the factory to achieve replicated in the final product. Honourableness sensation I had while working combination it was that of evolution. Blue blood the gentry complexity and connection felt during distinction transition between two organisms.
To finish, what’s next for you? How’s the A/W 2024 collection looking so far?
I line now in the production phase break into the AW24 collection. All designs own acquire been basically confirmed, and many intricate problems have been solved. The latest season will see some explorations drag new directions, so stay tuned.