This season Sankuanz presented their collection in conjunction with a unique artistic performance. In the middle of a black pool of water an unidentifiable girl wearing a white lace dress and tattered white ribbons in her hair is huddled over, dripping in wax, with lit candles protruding from her back. Two red painted shell-string bikini clad Sankuanz minions with slicked back wet hair are scurrying around her in long pointed toe boots, securing the candles in place. Shirtless men in lace underwear wearing tiny metallic goggles lay on the outskirts of this puddle. They crouch down and whisper to one another. What is happening? I don’t know.
These characters carry on with their ominous spectacle as the music begins. Chanting and drumming accompanies the entrance of new models and new creatures to the scene. Like animals at a watering hole, they begin to gather and entangle themselves in one another, painting a Bosch-ian tableau for the collection to be presented in. As each look is unveiled, they become temporarily part of the mise en scene; writhing, convulsing, dancing and climbing on top of one another for the photocall. Many of the pieces presented are more akin to costumes representing different facets of debauchery or desire; such as two slender black creatures with long bird head hats, piercing red jewel eyes. Another figure lurks onto the scene in heavy black combat boots and a shaggy white fur coat whose ragged tail drags behind him. It’s like a much darker Labyrinth, on crystal meth.
This theatricality is interrupted by sleeker, contemporary street-silhouettes that blend Chinese heritage aesthetics with the same dark, mystical aura at play in the more avant-garde ensembles. Asymmetrical suit interpretations with exaggerated angular draping and various forms of mao collars and cheongsam outlines are punctuated with pointy silver toed boots. These more reserved and artisanal forms are interjected with denim and plaid to give the collection an youthful, urban identity. These contrasting thematics reveal the brand’s multifaceted influences and give it a distinct identity that appeals to the younger generation’s taste for sealing the gap between different artistic practices. Can’t wait to see what else lies inside the shadowy realms of Sankuanz..
Until next time,
Rianna
