Written by With Shanghai Fashion Week returning to a virtual format since March 2020, London-based designer Feng Chen Wang took to the metaverse to present her new made-to-measure collection. Created with support from virtual reality innovation centre Inert Plan, the show saw the Chinese-born designer explore the boundaries between the real and the virtual worlds.
Feng said the concept of the real and the virtual – and the way those two entities interact – has been present in Chinese philosophy for many centuries, long preceding the advent of comparatively very new technologies like the metaverse.
Pieces in the digital collection were made to be seasonless and comprise both real and virtual designs that were linked to Feng’s AW 2022 collection, shown during London Fashion Week in February 2022.
The collection extends to a more futuristic and sustainable outlook on clothing, with eight virtual looks ranging from avant-garde menswear tailoring to womenswear designs that paid homage to the designer’s free-flowing creativity.
The focus on sustainability and the show’s setting in the Metaverse reflects the previous LVMH and Woolmark Prize nominee’s forward-thinking approach, displayed through items that were able to be worn in multiple ways and the use of plant dyes for the real-life iterations of the pieces.
Feng’s Nike collaboration was also present through customised embellished Nike Air Force 1 and Nike Air Force 1 Plt.af.orm sneakers worn by digital avatars, as well as a digital installation constructed using Nike’s Grind recycled material.
Bamboo – now a Feng Chen Wang signature – is present in the second art installation and in the collection via bamboo bags while the third installation references emerald-green bodiless lacquerware, a traditional craft, which formed a key inspiration for Wang’s Autumn/ Winter 2022 collection.