Li Shiuan Chen

Li-Shiuan Chen, also called Sean, from Taiwan, has explored ideas of isolation and destruction in his final menswear collection. He was inspired by the novel L’Etranger, written by French author and philosopher Albert Camus, as well as the bikes of London. With a bike being stolen every ninety seconds, Sean used this destructive behaviour as a starting point. The designer experienced isolation himself during his childhood and once again during the lockdown. He has transcribed this feeling into his work by creating designs reminiscent of shields and armour, which protect the wearer from the outside world.

 

He has created two themes: the first comprising a jacket and a suit, the second with multiple sartorial pieces put together. Made of recycled wire, foam, polyester and wool, the collection features pleating as a foldable armour. As a onetime dancer, Sean is very familiar with body structure and movement. “Dance influences my work because I always consider the movement of the garment,” he says. “I don’t like simple garments; I like them to have a function and to have movement.” Indeed, movement punctuates the collection and the oversized flexible garments. Sean always observes and takes in as much as he can of the world around him. “I observe society,” he says. “I like to observe the interactions between individuals and society. This is what my work is all about.”

 

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