Chet Lo’s second collection after graduating from the Fashion East group showcase was bold. He reined in his love for color and paraded a mostly black collection, also venturing beyond his signature spiky knits.
“All of my work in the previous seasons has always been really bright and happy, but this time I was more inspired by the darker emotions that I’ve been feeling the past couple of months. So the collection is very emo and angry,” Lo said during a preview.
Models stuck out their tongues, which had been colored blue, green, and black, provoking the audience.
Lo played with leather, denim, and laser cutting, and his experiments with eveningwear and outerwear deserve some recognition. For one long coat, Lo used tailoring fabrics to build the top, silk for the bottom and then he applied felt on top to achieve a gradient effect.
Flashes of color began to appear in the middle of the show. “The inspiration is bioluminescence in the deep ocean. Imagine yourself in pitch dark and see these flashes of light,” explained Lo.
The strong association with bright colors has been a blessing and a curse for the designer. While it helped the brand quickly build a distinctive image, it has also scared some potential customers away.
“Wearability-wise, I definitely know black is easier to wear. I didn’t want to do anything that isn’t authentic to me, but now I want to create garments that you can wear at home, to the office, or to dinner. You don’t have to be super colorful and I am super OK with that,” Lo said.
Looking ahead, the designer said he wants to be different every season, and showcase “a new side of me that people haven’t seen before.”