XANDER ZHOU PRO FW24 at Shanghai Fashion Week

XANDER ZHOU PRO FW24 / Fall Winter 2024 at Shanghai Fashion Week entitled “Sciremony”

XANDER ZHOU PRO FW24 season’s theme, SCIREMONY, a portmanteau of SCIENCE and CEREMONY, weaves together the ongoing narratives in my mind and unfolding new visions. It is a grand celebration, a masquerade ball set in the future, blending mystery, romance, and science fiction, perhaps even with a hint of Chinese Gothic to it.

What I try to manifest this time is a ritualistic futurism. For me, the allure of uniforms has always extended far beyond their intrinsic features. And when formal attire merges with mechanical aesthetics, the result is a solemnity of ceremonies paired with a longing for technological exploration.

Details of Xander Zhou Pro FW24, Alongside futuristic formalwear, Transmodern Romanticism is another direction that I gravitate towards this season. Indeed, beyond the seemingly cold, metallic exterior, there lies a romantic sentiment in my vision of technology.

While I am ever-fascinatedby technology and its latest evolutions, I am not a fanatic enamored with every technological novelty. By deconstructing time and space, I merge elements not typically seen within the same temporal or spatial dimensions, generating new imageries that feel strangely familiar yet elusive – for example by coaxing various characters out of blank classical canvases to take center stage in a virtual reality enlivened by the age of AI.

The future is an enigma, and my designs are merely conjectures, dramatized projections of hypothetical scenarios. Such a design process is akin to conducting research, drawing inspiration from fields beyond fashion. It is also like scripting a movie, replete with evolving characters and settings. At its heart, this endeavor is about maintaining a curious outlook towards the future. After all, what truly shapes the future is not technology, but our attitudes and choices.