London Collections: Men – Xander Zhou A/W 2014 show

Xander Zhou is a Beijing-based designer with foundations in fashion and industrial design from the Netherlands and China respectively. Renowned for taking elements out of context, his autumn/winter 2014 collection explored themes of contrast and royalty through silhouettes, colour and texture. The press release, similar to the collection, was minimal in design and stamped in words like “reinvention”, “regalia” and “furry” to convey the aesthetic of the collection.

Xander gave us modern tailoring with a bit of a twist. The proportions were mostly elongated with the exception of a couple of looks while floor-sweeping scarves, sashes and royal crests decorated the look. Turtle necks paired with extremely impractical short shorts provoked a rather immature chuckle in the audience, where the very thought of seeing a man’s thigh in winter-time felt somewhat silly and unlikely. 

The highlights of the show included Zhou’s signature trench coats, impeccably tailored and styled with matching separates – the pants baggy like pyjama bottoms. The trench covered in furry poof ball polka-dots was our favourite – a fun statement piece that will undoubtedly go down well with the “look at me” culture flooding our blogs and news feeds. Clear lenses, messy hair, dewy skin and furry trainers accessorised the look and brought an edgy yet playful element to what we thought was an otherwise safe collection.

Christianna Pugliese
Photos: Courtesy of Xander Zhou

Explore Xander Zhou’s Collections here. 

Watch the video for the Xander Zhou A/W 2014 catwalk show here: