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Robert Wun recently celebrated his label’s 10th anniversary in Hong Kong, showcasing 12 new pieces at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. When asked about the theme of the show, the designer said, “It’s about my grandmother, Hong Kong women and their determination – strong and beautiful.”
Each design conveyed a story of power and femininity, combining eye-catching visuals with detailed craftsmanship. The collection included structured bodices, eye-catching hats and sharp, exaggerated artificial nails that added a rebellious touch. In an unconventional move, the models also held vintage-style cigarettes, producing delicate smoke trails that added to the drama of the show.
These surrealist looks are the latest by Wun, who is known for his transformative designs based on liminal concepts such as the passage of time or the seasons. This time he has subtly evoked the essence of Hong Kong, drawing from vivid images in his memories: the vibrant concrete jungle, the recognisable ‘granny shirt’, and the street patterns that embody the essence of home for him. “I don’t want to represent ‘Hong Kong’ in an overly direct way. I believe the most honest expressions can connect deeply with the audience,” he said. While Wun’s fabulist design night appears to be the first to start an emerging trend, designers in India have long been designing within the magical-realist genre.
For designer Amit Aggarwal, his latest collection was more deterministic. The Indian designer focused on the “cause-and-effect nature of time” and “how time shapes itself through various forms and structures, blending order with fluidity in each moment” for his FDCI India Couture Week collection. “This collection mixes philosophical, mythological, religious, scientific, and cosmological ideas, creating a unique vocabulary for the brand. With ANTEVORTA, we highlight the profound relationship between time and the universe, emphasizing that nothing exists independently of it,” he told Elle.
A designer’s obsession with all things imaginative is not as new as we think. Magic, imagination and fantasy have always had their place in high fashion. Another Indian maestro who embraced this concept is Gaurav Gupta. His Couture Week collection was named Arunoday, which “symbolises the mystical transformation of night into day, symbolising hope, renewal and the infinite possibilities that come with each new beginning”.
Similarly, an under-the-radar Indian designer is Ashish Gupta who uses this shift to focus on wearable fits rather than haute couture. His political work under the Ashish label is made of sequins that aim to “disrupt and deceive the eye with trompe l’oeil effects and unexpected references”. The designer’s use of sequins to create knit wear, as well as his playful yet rebellious outlook on fashion, exudes a sense of imaginative exploration – qualities that evoke the ethos of magical realism but in a highly artistic, grounded way. “Part of my attraction to sequins is the clash of high and low taste. When I started designing, they had a really dubious cocktail dress-like association. I like a bit of bad taste, so that was part of it,” he told The Guardian in 2023.
However, one of the highlights of the industry is PELLA. While the designer’s current website is not working, the founder, Priyanka Ella Lorian Lama is usually spotted at offline couture festivals. “Imperfections are deliberately incorporated in the designs to give a ‘wrong’ solution to an otherwise perfect standard. My patterns are often developed from a single block of fabric which requires minimal measurements and stitching,” Priyanka told the platform.
The momentary intersection between magic and realism has been a huge part of the high fashion movement and with the likes of Cheney Chan, Maison Margiela and Maison Schiaparelli, it has become a duty-borne task to keep an eye on Indian designers making their mark in this genre.
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