If there is one culture that fascinates fashion, it has to be Asian. Whether it is being used as an inspiration for a new season collection or being hailed as the latest goldmine for sales, the industry just can’t get enough of trying to peddle its Asian fascination… Even going so far this year by trying to rekindle the love between the east and the west by staging this year’s Met Exhibition with the theme of China: Through The Looking Glass.
And while it explores designers like Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano who have been enchanted by the East, I find it far more interesting to explore the recent rise of talented Asian designers who offer a hybrid of eastern and western ideas like Prabal Gurang, Thakoon, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang and of course, Phillip Lim, the designer known for his ‘beautiful everyday classics accented with a sense of madness’.
Launched in 2005, 3.1 Phillip Lim has been offering a wardrobe of ‘clothes that refine instead of define’ giving the wearer the opportunity to always remain the focus rather than the clothes being the dominate one. Take this neoprene oversized varsity jacket, what could easily dominate and swallow me up acts as a cocoon of coolness that doesn’t detract from your own personal style. I guess there really is method in Phillip Lim’s madness…
Jacket 3.1 Phillip Lim, knit Acne, t-shirt Topman, jeans Cheap Monday, trainers Supra, sunglasses Celine