Feng Chen Wang lives and works in London, but in her hometown of Fujian, there’s a tea tradition for every season. For fall, that was her starting point, but it’s as much about interpersonal connection as it is about any specific custom like the one known as Hundred Family Tea. (Yes, she does make her own.)
Turning tea culture—with all its implicit ties to nature, heritage, and process—into a contemporary, nongendered design proposition sounds like a tall order. It could have gone completely gimmicky. But with just a few exceptions, the designer kept her inspiration in the background, though it’s worth knowing that a dipped hoodie and loose trouser ensemble was made with tea-based dyes.
In her notes, the designer explained that her base has “matured and developed, much like a perfectly steeped Wuyi Rock tea.” That’s a poetic way of saying that while she’s well aware that these times call for restraint, a white shirt doesn’t have to be boring and denims need not be basic (instead, they come ribbed with delicate pleating). Also, earthy roasted and brewed shades are universally flattering. Several pieces of outerwear looked like keepers, among them a couple of tailored, sepia-tinged leather jackets, a burgundy bomber lined with caramel shearling, and a sweeping bronze puffer.
Accessories were where the designer really let her bubbly personality shine through: A clamshell-style handbag reprised a ceramic teapot, for example. So did the limited-edition two-in-one Chuck 70 sneaker collaboration with Converse, which was released on the designer’s website simultaneously with the show. They come with a futuristic 3D-molded sole, an add-on informed by another traditional teapot. In a season defined by stompers, those might just catch on.
