Xinnan Zhang
Collection
credit:
Music: Artist.io sniperbunker by out of flux
“When the strings lost control”
“When the strings lost control” is a thesis collection centered around a nervous system disease I’m facing. I've had involuntary body tremors for the past eight years, mainly in my hands, which can impact my voice and, in more extreme cases, result in stiffness or loss of control in other body parts. I've learned to cope with these symptoms over time, as have people around me. This experience served as the conceptual and emotional basis for my thesis collection, which uses marionettes as a metaphor to examine the idea of losing control.
I created this collection by disassembling clothing from different categories and reassembling it in novel ways, building on my research of marionettes' exaggerated facial and body features. The use of lines, which allude to both the delicate, frequently invisible network of human nerves and the control strings of puppets, is a crucial design element throughout. I experimented with this idea using a variety of materials, such as wool, fishing line, leather cord, and silver chain, to make visual compositions of surfaces, lines, and points.
The four primary colors used to present the collection are gray-purple, black, red, and beige. While gray-purple symbolizes the color of veins as they show beneath the skin, beige and red reflect the tones of skin and blood. The collection's most prominent color, black, was picked purely because it matches my style and wardrobe. When combined, these hues serve as a clear representation of who I am.
Credits:
Photographer - @sean.yuanzhen
Model - @mattfranchi
MUA - @claire_elise730
Production team - @mag_zhou1130 @winnie1_y @leihaof
Music - @chef_chenn
This is the first time I've discussed this aspect of my experience. Even though the more trying times aren't shown in this collection and there isn't much hope for a recovery, I made it with sincerity and purpose. Whether you read this silent confession or watch the pieces, I hope you get more ideas and understanding for others like us.
Bio
Xinnan Zhang is a menswear and optical designer. She was born in Hangzhou, China, and attended middle and high school in Chicago before moving to New York to follow their love of fashion. Xinnan was brought up in a creatively vibrant and technically exacting environment by his father, an optical designer, and mother, an art educator. Her designs aim to redefine modern menswear through thoughtful, inventive work that reflects personal experience and a profound appreciation for craftsmanship. They explore structure, emotion, and storytelling.