The theme of every season by APUJAN is inspired by literature, and associated with chaotic timelines and imaginations within parallel worlds. Through different topics and imagination of virtual worlds, APUJAN creates a unique worldview by interlacing different timelines. In the season of Autumn/Winter 2020, APUJAN brings another whimsical chapter “The Cloud-Making Factory” to London Fashion Week, using elements such as fantastic factories, gears, chimneys, robots and islands, to transport his audience to the places where clouds, stars and moons are created.
There are many books that inspire the story of this season, such as “Tents in the Clouds” by Monica Jackson and Elizabeth Stark, “The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds” by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, “Stories of Your Life and Others” by Ted Chiang and “The Paper Managerie and Other Stories” by Ken Liu.
In this imaginary world, all the wonderful things are from the same origin, where vast arrays of machines operate to create clouds and the starry sky. There are pterodactyls, spaceships, and antique expedition aircraft travelling among the clouds. Below them are the chimneys of the cloud-making factory, where gears, conveyor belts, and islands float between the black, white and blue sky.
This is an imaginary world behind the imaginary world, an imaginary word behind the island B of Jurassic Park. This is a glimpse of the storybook through the accidental split. In the printed patterns, by using the outline of vector file, APUJAN implies that the world we see is actually drawn. We are in a world where virtual and real coexist. In this world, we don’t know where we are, and which part is real.
The Autumn/Winter collection contains over 100 individual pieces. APUJAN will be displaying 36 outfits on the runway, featuring headwear, scarves, knitwear, evening gowns and ready to wear. The overarching theme continues in the brand’s signature style, featuring oriental details and western contours, with additional elements that draw on the traditions of fantasy and imagination. This season, the details of oriental clothing elements such as cheongsam buckle, oriental collar and sleeve, and traditional festive headwear can be found integrated into different modern style garments such as shirts, coats, dresses and gowns. There are also more sports and leisure styles. The accessories that can be seen on the runway include hand-woven hats, floral headwear and 3-D printed gears.
As with previous collections, APUJAN works with his original and exclusively developed fabrics, using a wide range of techniques such as digital embroidery, semi 3-D jacquard fabric, transparent embroidery and digital print. He also works with varies materials such as silk, cotton and cashmere, as well as lamb and merino wools. A variety of knitted styles are created with these raw materials using both manual and automated weaving. A large number of computer-generated techniques are also used this season to create the knitted styles.