CHOU CHOU
"CHOU" means "ugly" in Chinese, and CHOU CHOU is actually my nickname that my grandfather gave it to me. It’s a collection about myself which encompasses a lot of things that are all centered around my own life and upbringing.
I was never an obedient child. My mom described me as sharp, a triangle. She wants me to become well-rounded instead of being so angular to interact with people and things I don't like. Because a circle can roll very fast while a triangle can't run.
I do not intend to change myself, but in the process of growing up I began to wonder if becoming “round” was the result of everyone. I don’t want to be a numb adult, but to be a hexagon, because a triangle with three corners ground off is a hexagon, which isn't as sharp but has its own edges.
This collection is about exploring oneself in terms of boundaries, so one word I always follow when designing this collection is "subversion”. I consider many factors to be vague and undefinable in life, so the result is to incorporate design aspects into traditional basic outfits, deconstructing, disorganizing and integrating them. For instance, four-finger gloves, culottes, extra-long pockets, and pant collars in the collection, etc......
I chose thick and firm fabrics with some transparent mesh, in order to create the comfy loose style but has light weight fabric to create a blurry sense. Green and blue would be the main color for this collection because those are the colors that make eyes feel at ease. the bright colors such as red and orange are used as sense colors. I’m also adding geometric figures of triangle, hexagon and circle in styling and accessories.
What I am working on is a collection that is comfortable, easy to move in, and refined in its proportions and design sensibilities. I am editing the lines of garments, very carefully, to develop a stylish way to be casual and fun. Clothes should be fun.
For instance, I think about how a man could wear a corset. What would that look like?
Putting aside traditional perception of everyday clothes as being more about comfort versus design, I wanted to create pieces that were casual yet with a distinctive style.
The world is clear, but what I see is blurry, and now I'm a regimented hexagon that started out as wildly enthusiastic. Glasses protect my eyes, and my parents' discipline is meant to protect me, but the world I see without glasses has a different kind of beauty, and the original me has its own sparkle. A poem saids: "I lost an arm and I opened an eye", so what's good or bad? In order to change oneself to fit the “rules”, just take it easy and be yourself.
