Yayi Chen Zhou grew up between Spain and China and is currently based in Shanghai. She spent a handful of years in New York, where she studied at the Parsons School of Design and worked at Thom Browne and The Row before launching her own label. Her point of view is as unique as it is global, combining Chinese elegance and Spanish flair through a New Yorker’s lens.
A pressing current preoccupation at Shanghai Fashion Week is how to cultivate Chinese identity while positioning homegrown designers to emanate global appeal. It’s a tricky balancing act, bridging the gap between the West’s presumptions about the “Made in China” label and the wide range of fashion the country actually has to offer.
What Chen Zhou seems to understand is that, in this cultural moment, going global is about thinking locally—the more specific, the more universal. Chen Zhou understands the nuances of a multicultural identity, and has developed a collection based on her own specific experience. By offering an autobiographical perspective and working with manufacturers in China, Spain, and New York, she explores the complexities of being an Asian immigrant woman while encompassing the sensibilities of the three separate cultures.
This was Chen Zhou’s runway debut after being named a semi-finalist at the 2024 LVMH Prize. What lies underneath all of this talk about identity is a collection that is both sophisticated and relevant. She said that its connective thread was considering the experience of the maker and the wearer simultaneously. That meant utilizing materials like iron dyed silks, handmade floral adornments, and linen yarn. The idea was to give her often glamorous silhouettes a touch of humility. There were knitted corsets and tunics, dévore velvets, and even a papier mâché dress featuring cascading flowers.
Chen Zhou also transformed the lapels of her tailored jackets into loose ties, which were worn criss-crossed around the chest and fastened in the back, rendering a formal suit something closer to a modest apron. She offered flamenco fringes at the hems of belts and capelets and an interpretation of a Spanish mantilla draped as a chic blouse. There was a thoughtfulness and confidence to Chen Zhou’s output this season. She’s a designer with honest, real potential.
