Dear Shaded viewers,
Xander Zhou’s menswear is at the forefront of Fashion’s future. The vision of combining technology with orientalism and imagining possibilities of integration with artificial intelligence is encapsulated in the AW24 collection “Sciremony”. Two narratives often considered parallel, Science and Ceremony, are finally abridged into a grand masquerade ball of the future.
Xander has described his vision as a “ritualistic futurism”. The style of dress is a take on uniformity and formal attire, blending mechanical and technological aesthetics with hints of Chinese Gothic that represent his nativity. The most classical form of menswear, the suit, is taken on a hypothetical flash forward. The silhouette is slim and elongated, with computer-inspired plates, almost-corsets, and button details across the torso. Collars are extended upright, at times around the model’s faces like armour. Sharp, angular tailoring evokes an energy that toys between dandy and villainous, complete with walking canes that accessorise a number of looks.
Xander posits a Trans-modern Romanticism. While tailoring is mysterious and edgy, he includes gentle, optimistic colours like soft periwinkle and teal tones that disrupt the cold metallics of Sci-Fi clichés. As outwear in the form of leather trenches and deconstructed trench-inspired jackets appear, so do smooth, pastel masks that cover the face. Exploring every detail of the futuristic masquerade, Xander has invited robot-animal hybrids and lush bonsai trees, swaddled in the arms of attendees.
The result is an eerily familiar, yet entirely novel Science Fiction affair.
Later,
