Beautiful and Haunting - Robert Wun
Okay okay, I need to talk about Robert Wun.
Combine Scaparelli, McQueen and Mugler - that’s Robert Wun. Robert Wun has inspired me to do PERSPEX again, I don’t think I can just not say anything. Like look at his work??
Robert Wun was the first Hong Kong designer to show at Paris Couture Fashion Week. After applying for the Haute Couture Official Calender, Wun’s application was approved by a unanimous vote by 25 CEOs at The Fédération de la Hature Couture et de la Mode, a first in couture history.
Growing up in Hong Kong, Wun began to explore fashion at age 11 through thrift stores in Kowloon City, seeing how clothing gives a sense of identity. Wun moved to the UK at age 17, as his family felt that pursuing a creative career would’ve been best in London rather than Hong Kong. Studying at the London College of Fashion, Wun graduated in 2012, with his first ready-to-wear collection being made in his bedroom for debut in 2014. Within his ready-to-wear brand, Wun had a few lucky breaks. A few purchases by Lady Gaga, an invitation to work on The Hunger Games, some requests by celebrities and their stylists.
“I always remind myself that the houses we now call “commercial” were not built on sales. They were built on fantasy. They became legends because their couturiers dared to create something no one else had. ”
A decade later, Wun pivoted to haute couture through winning by request of his mentor Bruno Pavlovsky (which is Chanel’s CEO by the way). Two months later, Wun made his couture debut; Fear.
Fear was inspired by Wun’s own personal experience creating his first couture collection. The pressure of putting together an entire debut couture collection in two months (which is such a small amount of time) was at the forefront of Wun’s mind, leading the collection to fruition. It was the time pressure, the self doubt, the pressure of hundreds of luxury fashion’s eyes looking at you. Clean silhouettes and complex fabrications were destroyed and deteriorated, crisp white fabrics stained with ‘wine’ (beetroot dye), yellow raincoats crystallised with acid rain.
Wun’s AW21 collection Armour was inspired by the passing of his grandmother, creating an “army to go to heaven with her”. It was a deeply personal collection for Wun, as his grandmother was his closest family during his childhood in Hong Kong. Fabric was chosen for their ability to look like metal, pleated to combine soft with hard.
His latest collection, the one that inspired this article, is SS26 - Valor: The Desire to Create, and the Courage to Carry On. In three chapters, Wun explored dreams through study (Library), the price of luxury at the expense of creativity (Luxury: Confrontation of Reality) and the sheer bravery of creation (Valor). Its a reflection of Wun’s stubborn determination in the now commercial world of luxury fashion.
The final look (which is often the bridal look) was a ballgown covered in microglass beads, weighing around 40 kilograms.
One thing I love about Wun’s work is that its not supposed to be commercial, its not supposed to appeal to the rich luxury fashion clients. It’s not like Gucci or Chanel, always keeping the dollars in the background. It’s supposed to worn by those who have that same stubbornness for creativity. Its supposed to be appreciated and inspire, not necessarily sell. It reminds me of Alexander McQueen, his eponymous work had that same feeling. It’s not supposed to sit in the wardrobes of clientele, its supposed to be interacted with in an artistic way, the runways are supposed to be experiences, not showcases of the latest trends and the bestselling fashions.
Wun is inspired by motifs unrelated to fashion, rather than fashion’s own history. A main inspiration is the relationship between humanity and nature, the future intertwined with the present. It’s a combination of haunting and beautiful. His pleating is inspired by birds wings, his beading inspired by the human form. His work is a reflection of his complete need to create, to express his emotions and his memories through fabric and silhouette. His stubborness to be a fashion designer through art, not through commericalism, is what sets him apart. This is why I compare him to McQueen, this is why you can see the similarities. Wun’s roots are in ready-to-wear, but his soul is in couture. His work is creating a feeling, a memory, an experience, something so deeply personal that is so esoteric yet so general. By watching his runways you see Wun as a designer, but you also see the feminine concept, yourself, and the human experience. Its everything and its nothing, its male and female, its the past and the future, its strong and its weak, its clean and its dirty, and its both beautiful and haunting.
I really think Wun’s work need to be seen in order to be truly understood. I encourage you to watch his runways and look at the way the fabrics move and shine. It really is seen to be believed, and maybe you’ll understand why Robert Wun is such an important designer right now.
“I do every collection with pure emotion, because people can hate on anything, but they can’t hate devotion and honesty. They might not like it, but they can’t hate it because it’s truthful. It’s real, and I believe in that.”