Gaze into The Flowers in The Mirror
Spring/Summer 2021
In keeping with the accelerated digitalisation of this pandemic era, the APUJAN Spring/Summer 2021 London fashion show will be presented in digital form for the first time ever, with the theme “Gaze into The Flowers in The Mirror” which will be launched during London fashion week. The production team have specially invited many Golden Horse award winners including Director Jung Chi Chang, together with long-term collaborator, music director DJ QuestionMark (Chi-Shuan Ying) to create first virtual show, where Apu Jan invites the audience to explore the catwalk through a different lens. Actress Annie Chen and Go player Joanne Missingham have been invited to perform in this virtual catwalk show, with the Cloud Gate Theatre as the background.
The theme of this season draws inspiration from science fiction, telling stories in the blurred zone that exists between the virtual and the real. Apu Jan often uses books as the mood board for his designs, and this season’s titles include Flowers in the Mirror, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Fahrenheit 451, Speaker for the Dead, A Scanner Darkly, World Without Love and The Fall of the House of Usher. The theme “Gaze into the Flowers in the Mirror” echoes the Chinese idiom “Flower seen in the mirror, moon reflected on the water’s surface” to evoke the concept of virtual images, which can be seen but not touched; echoing the log-in account and the mimicry of the account; the virtual reality glasses; the projected music performance and the fashion show in the mirror. This season, Apu Jan tells a story in the world of science fiction, where we gradually lose the ability to distinguish between virtual and reality.
APUJAN continues working with his original, and exclusively developed fabrics, including digital embroidery, semi-translucent jacquard fabric, jersey knitted jacquard and digital print, in combination with fantasy style accessories made from 3-D printing, floral art design, and precious metals. The patterns on the designs use the common elements seen in the brand, including dinosaur skeletons, forests, deer, goldfish, roses, mirrors, moons, satellites, virtual projections, vector graphic points and lattice-like digital grid patterns.
There are over 100 pieces in the Spring/Summer 2021 collection, and 32 pieces will be displayed at the show. The designs combine the details of traditional oriental garments with the silhouette of scfi imagination. These garments include pure silk knitwear, chiffon shirts, chiffon printed dress, jacquard coats and sports jackets, Formal gowns, PM 2.5 facemasks, neckerchief, aprons and hats are also featured in the show. APUJAN continuous his collaboration with NIKE, featuring the new NIKE AIR FORCE series on the catwalk.
Music has always been an important element of the APUJAN fashion show, this season, the music director DJ QuestionMark has created a unique and original soundtrack. Inspired by the set designs of classic science fiction films, the tracks evoke a Cyber Punk theme, using electronic and noise elements that suggest a “glitch” in the virtual world, combined with the sounds of Taiko and slap sticks to reflect the oriental design elements of the clothes.
Working with the Catwalk Production House, APUJAN has invited international models Gia Tang, who have participated in previous London Fashion Week shows, together with many models and show directors to interpret this world in the mirror and the latest series of clothing.