For spring 2024, Shiatzy Chen took the audience — including decades-long friend, the Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh — into a fantasy world inspired by the ancient tale of the mirage city, where the dragon emperor of the East Sea lives.
“In Chinese mythologies, the dragon has 14 children, and the youngest one is called the dragon of mirage. It’s said that it can create mirages just by exhaling the air. Also, 2024 will be the year of the dragon. It’s a fitting theme,” Chen said backstage.
Under a giant abstract dragon installation by the France-based Brazilian artist Daniela Busarellot and Victoire de Pourtalès, founder of the French art studio 91.530 Le Marais, models came out in elegant numbers with aquatic motifs borrowed from Qing Dynasty blue-and-white cloud dragon porcelain. The silhouettes as usual were a fusion of Western and Eastern dressing philosophies done in a tasteful way.
Chen also offered street-y pieces like crinkled comber, sporty bar tops, and mottled and hem-stitched denim for the younger audience, and a slew of daywear options with fabrics that mimicked the appearance of coral beneath the sea, and lace overlays with a silvery metallic sheen. The looks were accessorized with linen-woven mules, drawstring pouches, and square tote bags.
The designer increased the percentage of men’s looks, which was added last season. A standout was the striped suit with minimal embellishments in parallel with the stripes.
