Private Policy swapped New York Fashion Week for Shanghai this season. Being Chinese, founders Siying Qu and Haoran Li are no strangers to this stage; they have of late been hosting a repeat of their NYFW show here, but this was the first time they presented in this market alone. It can’t really hurt to give their Chinese fan base some preferential treatment.
Qu and Li are interested in the way people of their generation dress and engage with fashion. This season, Li said, they explored young people’s understanding and often humorous decontextualizing of “old money” style. “We think it’s ironic that a lot of people dress ‘old money’ when they’re not,” he noted, explaining that he sees this as an “armor for urban life.”
It’s a particularly timely theme. We’re living in an era of economic anxiety, with Millennials and Gen Z types dressing for the bank accounts they’d like to have: prep is back in full swing, and the kind of attire Queen Elizabeth II wore at her country retreats has become trendy. It was the latter the designers leaned on here, transforming classic Barbour-style waxed canvas outerwear into cropped jackets and mini skirts and applying classic flap pockets to playful sheaths. These experiments made for the most successful segment in the show.
Qu and Lin know how to make some seriously flirty womenswear, but this season there was a newfound ease and sexiness to their menswear. The funky shoes are worth noting. Li developed 3D printed spheres and pointed tips to apply to Nike sneakers. They were intentionally clown-like. “I mean, the people who dress like this do it like a costume,” he said with a smirk. Call it cosplay or call it self-invention, either way Li was right on the money.
