“I’ve seen it many times,” noted Huishan Zhang of Belle de Jour, the Saint Laurent-wardrobed, Luis Buñuel-directed 1967 film starring Catherine Deneuve that was his starting-point for pre-fall. Films form the backbone of Zhang’s collections: some seasons, he directly references palettes or prints, while other times, he captures a mood. In the case of pre-fall, it’s the latter. “I like to express my experience and feelings from a movie,” he said during a Zoom preview from China. “That’s something I always really enjoy doing.”
The opener, a double-faced wool opera coat with a detachable embroidered collar, paired with the same fishnet tights and pointed-toe kitten heels that ground all the looks, epitomizes Huishan’s focus on daywear, which amplifies each season. Next up: a salmon-pink sequined dress embroidered with floral appliqué that gave a taste of the elaborate signatures that followed, which were rendered in guipure lace, layers of tulle, and all-over embellishments.
A nod to the buttoned skirt-suit Deneuve wears in the film was faintly echoed in pre-fall’s matching separates––though, realized in taupe and hot pink as opposed to Deneuve’s crimson. Looks that leaned more “youthful” were styled with black or white ankle-length socks, including a cocoon-silhouette coat with black and gold jacquard details evocative of ’60s wallpaper.
“The whole concept of building this woman’s complete wardrobe is an ambition for me,” Huishan explained. From now until early next year, his loyals will be able to see this vision at a pop-up at Selfridges in London. He’ll be back before his show in February––which will be a continuation of the ideas explored for pre-fall––so he’ll catch the tail-end.
