Sometimes designers are so married to a theme that they hit you over the head with it. The references become so gimmicky that they lose any real meaning.
For fall, Feng Chen Wang, who is from China but splits her time between London, Paris and New York, explored the idea of home and what that means to her. There were some literal interpretations — like the 239, which is the number of her childhood residence, and the word “home,” which showed up in graphics — but she extrapolated on the concept in a way that felt clever as opposed to obvious.
To invoke a sense of comfort, the runway was dotted with white, stuffed versions of household items such as a toilet, couch, sofa and a bathtub. She brought this idea into the collection with the accessories, which included a backpack designed to mimic a telephone and an oversized key hanging from a belt.
In terms of the clothes, which came in a mostly navy, orange and olive color palette, Wang is known for bringing innovation to streetwear staples, and that continued for fall.
She showed a cropped denim trench coat paired with matching cargo pants, voluminous puffer jackets made of patent leather and satin, and bleached denim jackets and pants meant to look worn, as if they were passed down from an older sibling.
Wang also veered into the tailored clothing territory, but in her own way. Blazers were cinched at the waist with a drawstring and she presented bottoms that fused together wool trousers and nylon track pants. A standout was a jacket made from mounds of boyfriend shirts. Models wore white Air Jordan Ones that Wang updated with transparent material that encased gold letters.
Lots of ideas? Yes. But Wang has proven adept at bringing them all together in an interesting way.
