Huishan Zhang started working on his resort collection in tandem with spring, shown last September. “You feel like you have more time to properly think things through,” the designer said of ideating collections simultaneously. Having spoken to Zhang over several seasons, he gives off a tangible feeling of being in his groove: he’s hired several new team members, secured a new studio in East London, and says everything is “running smoothly.”
His customers will be happy to see that the new collection caters to Zhang’s usual wardrobe touch points: prim daytime separates (some with faux-fur trims) in bouclé and denim, and plenty of dresses, varied in volume and finish. At a preview, he singled out a feather-kissed, hand-embellished minidress lined with silk, another minidress in his signature, hard-to-crease satin with embroidered crystals all over, and a maxi with a wing-like side train connected to the shoulder, made from a new stretch fabric.
“I really want to create a design language,” he said, adding: “For resort, we wanted to make [our] woman’s portrait more vivid.” This sentiment was translated via the faux-leather elements and the darker-toned looks––the same cue of “elegance versus rebellion,” that he explored last season, was a theme yet again––realized in “1960s-inspired” silhouettes. As ever, a muse grounded the spirit of the collection. This time for Zhang, it was Nan Kempner, who famously removed her trousers when denied entry to a New York restaurant for defying its dress code; instead wearing her Saint Laurent Le Smoking jacket as a dress.
