Ray Chu – Touch Me

Ray Chu returned to London Fashion Week for his third visit, while still the exciting, bold and theatrical designer the city has fallen for, this time the Taiwanese designer now based in Shanghai treated us to a softer gentler delivery of his vision.

Collaborating with Draw Me Denis who produced most of the visual motifs across the patches & prints for his most sustainable collection to date and the debut of his partnership with vegan leather producer LAB 808 (the older readers may agree a perfect name from anyone from a Pacific state!!). The leather is made from recycled plastics and tea leaves, perhaps we really can see the future in them?

As with previous seasons Ray Chu has presented a gender fluid and inclusive selection for the season, using the tailors eye to mix and bring together patterns cutting and lines from across the spectrum in each garment, we cleverly have a collection that is defined by the wearer around their own personality and identity not by a retail label.

One of the most important things in any collection by Ray Chu is here though, that naughty playfulness, we see the nods towards fetish, set in tune with the playful theatre of the hints of sexuality it fabrics that hint at what lies beyond but never quite reach exposure, its a titillation in textile, an after two years of beige walls and vanilla days, I am ready for all that and more.