Feng Chen Wang brings it home for NYFW: Men's

The concept of home means something different to us all. It can be particularly different for those who have traveled the world many times over, or aren't used to being static in one place. Designer Fen Cheng Wang found ways to bring it home for her fall/winter 2018 collection presented at Pier 59 Studios. This season, her collection was inspired by her childhood home of Fuijan, southern China, number 239, which was embroidered on garments throughout the collection.

Wang gave a new take on the boyfriend shirt, interpreting it as the keepsake of a former lover. Shirt pieces were paneled together, taking the constructed, breaking it down, then reconstructing it. Shirts were put on other shirts, and one shirt was even a fusion of numerous shirts, for a dramatic and avant garde effect. This symbolized the different connections we as humans have to each other based on family and travel. Denim was rendered as worn, given the suggestion that it was worn by an older sibling.

The feeling of the collection was also quite futuristic with shiny fabrics. Wang also used cotton-wool blends to mix them together with her own style to create a sporty, yet original look. Colors liked gold were used to symbolize the sun travelers see on their journey home, and warm oranges were used to symbolize the sun when one finally gets home. Winding strips of cotton, which twisted and turned, were very much like traveling home.

"This season is really important for me, because I want to keep doing better," Wang said. "It's always hard as a designer to go between the commercial side and the creative side, but this season we have many wearable clothes, as well as creative, conceptual clothes as well. There's a balance and it's quite exciting."

Wang has long been ahead of the curve, being part of the streetwear style movement long before it dominated the industry. When she first started, her clothes were a combination of sportswear mixed with traditional tailoring techniques. However, she hasn't let the growth in the streetwear market change her approach to design any. "For me, I just continued to go further into myself as a designer," she said. "I stay true to the brand as it originally started."

This collection showed how Wang carries her childhood memories and all of her travels in her creative essence. The end result took us to a new future of fashion, one stilled married to nostalgia.

photo: courtesy of Purple PR