Chenghui Zhang

Born in Milan, raised in China, and living in New York, designer Chenghui Zhang evokes traditional themes and repurposes them for a modern audience. We ask the designer about how her personal experience shapes her work.

When did your love of Fashion begin?
I never intended to be a fashion designer. I always wanted to be a fiction writer, ever since I was eight. I love to tell stories, short stories, love stories and suspenseful stories. In middle school, I start to publish some work in some magazine. យ៉ាងនាក៏ដោយ, in high school I started to take art classes. Since then I realized fashion is also a platform to tell more personal stories and strong statements. Then I moved to New York for Parsons.

How has your heritage, of being Italian born but raised in China affected your design aesthetics?
I was born in Milan, in a neighborhood that had a lot of traditional Italian families. I was baptized as Catholic while my parents were part of the communist party and worked for the government. It definitely influenced me in terms of how I value the world. My family is a mixture of liberal and conservative minds. My mom came from a very liberal and well-educated family. When I was young she taught me the importance of culture and history, and she brought me to countries around the world and showed me the importance of keeping an open mind. My dad came from a very traditional family, where they never truly valued the importance of art and culture. Because my family is a mixture of working class and upper class, and being able to grow up in an environment where the culture clash is at its most extreme, that gave me a unique perspective on art and culture.

What are you inspired by?
I’m inspired a lot by uniforms, the working-class, modern history, modern art and politics. I love the period of 1960-1990 China, how the period valued the importance of the working class. I also love Marcel Duchamp where he references mundane objects to redefine our current system.

How did going to Parsons and receiving the CFDA scholarship help your fashion career?
Parson created a great platform for me to get to know lots of great teachers and peers. It is a great school that has so much opportunity for a young artist to get real industry experiences. I use CFDA scholarship to help me fund my thesis collection. This is a great opportunity for me to be part of the industry while I was still at school.

For your thesis, you tracked 30 years of Globalization through the eyes of your grandmother. Why did you choose her as your subject matter?
I started this collection because my grandma had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for more than a decade. I want to create something of value to my family. យ៉ាងនាក៏ដោយ, my grandparents have passed away during my thesis year, this subject becomes the last thing that I use to celebrate their history and life.

What’s one piece of clothing that you think every woman should own?
I get most requests from the orange cotton jumpsuit from FW17. វាជាគ្រឿងប្រើប្រាស់ដែលអាចសម្របខ្លួនបានយ៉ាងងាយស្រួលទៅតាមទំហំផ្សេងៗ. បំណែកទាំងអស់របស់ខ្ញុំគឺជាបំណែកអព្យាក្រឹតយេនឌ័រ. យ៉ាងនាក៏ដោយ, បំណែក​ដែល​ខ្ញុំ​គិត​ថា​ស្ត្រី​គ្រប់​រូប​គួរ​តែ​មាន​គឺ​អាវ​កាក់​សាច់​ប្រាក់​ដែល​បាន​បំផុស​គំនិត​ពី SS18 របស់​ខ្ញុំ. ត្រូវបានបង្កើតឡើងពី 100% cashmere និងជាស្ពានរវាងសម្លៀកបំពាក់កីឡា និងសម្លៀកបំពាក់ធ្វើការ. វានឹងសមនឹងក្រុមមនុស្សដែលចាប់អារម្មណ៍លើសោភ័ណភាពទាំងពីរ.

តើអ្នកអាចប្រាប់យើងអំពីការប្រមូលចុងក្រោយរបស់អ្នក។?
ការប្រមូល SS18 នេះគឺជាការប្រមូលកន្សោមមើលជាមុន មុនពេលយើងចាប់ផ្តើមម៉ាករបស់យើងក្នុងខែមីនា 2018. យើងនឹងបើកដំណើរការម៉ាករបស់យើង។ “ការងារសង្គម” នៅទីក្រុងញូវយ៉កប្រហែលខែមីនា. នៅក្នុងការប្រមូលនេះ។, SS18, ខ្ញុំស្វែងយល់ពីការផ្លាស់ប្តូរសង្គមនៅដើមទសវត្សរ៍ទី 90 នៅក្នុងប្រទេសចិន. នៅពេលដែលប្រទេសចិនបើកទីផ្សារដំបូងទៅកាន់បរទេស, សម្លៀកបំពាក់កីឡា និងសម្លៀកបំពាក់ធ្វើការគឺជារចនាប័ទ្មពីរដែលគ្របដណ្តប់ប្រទេសចិនឆ្នាំ 1990. អ្នកប្រើប្រាស់បានឈានដល់កម្រិតអតិបរមា. ដោយរួមបញ្ចូលគ្នានូវស្ទីលទាំងពីរ ហើយថែមទាំងប្រើម៉ូដអាស៊ីតាមដងផ្លូវ និងម៉ូដែលម៉ូដខ្ពស់ផងដែរ។, ខ្ញុំបង្កើតការគិតឡើងវិញនៃរូបភាពនោះ ហើយនាំទស្សនិកជនត្រឡប់ទៅដើមទសវត្សរ៍ឆ្នាំ 1990 វិញ។.