The Future Was Written In The Stars With Apu Jan SS20
Interview by Ross Pollard – Emerging Designers Editor
I glanced across the runway, in the centre of a huddle of clicking cameras and excited conversation a star had taken her seat.
Jesse Tang the top astrologer in Taiwan was this seasons guest of honour at the Apu Jan Fashion week show. Apu Jan always has a star guest and in the past he’s invited actresses, singers and models.
I was keen to know about this seasons guest when I caught up with him backstage after the show?
“We always put lots of hints about stars and time, Jessie Tang is one of the most famous people in Taiwan for seeing into the stars and so with our story we wanted someone who could explain the stars and she was a fantastic choice”.
As the collection had travelled through the show space I’d noticed that while many signature touches and colours from the label were still present there had been more experimentation with colours this season.
“Every season we want to try something different but always in the same direction, we used a lot of flowers from the beginning to the end and the pink and light blue are all colours in the flowers”.
Having attended every Apu Jan show since his London debut and later meeting him in Taipei for an in depth interview in our April edition (read it here) I’ve noticed how the collections have evolved, the early collections focused perhaps more to gowns and over time have developed into a much fuller wardrobe selection including sportswear and customised shoes.
“We want to combine more sportswear, nowadays when you dress even dress up you can wear sports shoes, we wanted it to be a collection where you didn’t know if it was from the future or the past, sports shoes seem very contemporary but on them you can see some traditional costumes. We already designed some footwear and we’ve collaborated with Nike, I love Nike and wear them when I play basketball”.
The other them that has grown over time is how the looks have started to have unisex elements, and there has been a focus growing around accessories.
“We want to provide more clothes for men or in unisex, so the baseball caps, scarves and similar can provide more accessories. I don’t know much about the trend, but that’s what we want to do”.
Once again Apu Jan had provided one of the must see collections from London Fashion Week, It’s always been a pleasure to see a young designer grow and develop, and he has certainly done that, this is a collection I know will resonate with new and old fans as he continues to build his label and profile on the international scene, it’s a collection I wholeheartedly advise you to look at for your wardrobe in 2020.
Catwalk Photographs – Chris Yates
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