Last season's "Made in China" collection made it clear that Feng Chen Wang—although a brand with roots in London and New York—is not afraid to look to the designer's heritage for inspiration. With her Fall 2018 collection, Wang decided to take that to the extreme.
"I want to style my personal story to communicate [with] more people," she says to me about her newest collection in a pre-show preview. The collection, notably, is designed around the concept of "home." It's unsurprising given that home is a broad concept for Wang. The designer was born and raised in Fuijan, a province in southern China. The number of her childhood house, 239, is prominently displayed on sweatshirts and bags through the collection.
It's not entirely about Wang, though, as items like reconstructed boyfriend shirts are universal. Even the color scheme, full of California Poppy orange, green-gold, and blues, serves the purpose of recalling the warmth and comfort of a place you call home. But Feng Chen Wang knows that basing a color scheme around an idea can be a risk. "Before I bring it to the market, I never know if people are going to accept it or not...I never think about it. I really try to follow my heart," she remarks. However, it seems to be a risk that pays off, as she continues on: "It sells well...Most of them are top-sellers. It’s interesting. But for me, I just bring out what I know and what I really feel."
It seems to be working for Wang, who graduated in 2015 from London's Royal College of Art. Her menswear collections were instantly recognizable, an east-meets-west style that's unique in structure. This uniqueness brought her recognition early on—just one year after graduating, Feng Chen Wang was nominated for the coveted LVMH prize. CFDA took note soon after, and with the two most powerful organizations in fashion behind it, Feng Chen Wang has become a brand of note much quicker than most. Wang herself, however, makes a point to note that the confidence that the LVMH prize nomination brought served as a driving force.
Unsurprisingly, many other brands have taken note of the style, including Nike and Levi's, both of which have recrruited her for collaborations. Her newest Nike collaboration debuted on Tuesday's runway along with the rest of her collection. Wang says she believes they approached her because of her futuristic clothing and their openness to "collaborating with a young designer with attitude." It's easy to see why they chose Feng Chen Wang.
See the Fall 18 collection below, as shot by photographer Dan Lecca.
