“I have seen it many times,” Huishan Zhang said belle de jourSaint Laurent-Wardrobe, a 1967 film directed by Luis Buñuel starring Catherine Deneuve, was his starting point for pre-collapse. Films are the backbone of Zhang’s collections: in some seasons, he directly references palettes or prints, while at other times, he captures a mood. In the case of pre-collapse, it’s the latter. “I like to express my experiences and emotions from a film,” he said during a Zoom preview from China. “It’s something I’ve always enjoyed 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 punctuate the entire look, epitomizes Huishan’s focus on daywear , which increases every season. Next up: a salmon-pink sequin dress with floral embellishments that gave a taste of the elaborate signatures that would come later, presented in guipure lace, layers of tulle and embellishments throughout.
The look of the buttoned skirt-suit worn by Deneuve in the film was faintly echoed in Pre-Fall’s matching separates – though realized in a deep and hot pink in contrast to Deneuve’s deep red. More “youthful” looks were styled with black or white ankle-length socks, including a cocoon-silhouette coat with black and gold jacquard detailing suggestive of ’60s wallpaper.
“The whole concept of creating this woman’s entire wardrobe is an ambition for me,” Huishan said. From now until early next year, his faithful will be able to witness the sight at a pop-up in Selfridges, London. He’ll be back in February before his show — which will be a continuation of the ideas explored for Pre-Fall — so he’ll catch the finishing touches.
