Zane Li said his first runway show changed his approach to design, going from caring about how things would look on two-dimensional images to considering how the garments would behave in motion.
“It’s more about the interaction of the clothes, movement with music, with the interior design, and how the trim, the fabric, interacts with a model’s movement and the walk. It was a pivotal moment for me,” he added.
Continuing his love for structural materials and primary colors, the brand’s fall 2026 men’s collection felt less editorial and more wearable, which is a good thing.
His wrangling with factories in China paid off; his ideal of sportswear-inspired, elevated wardrobe creations became a reality this time. The colorblocking windbreakers, shrunken shoulder raincoats and knit-over-tracksuit layerings looked neat.
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The designer also delved deeper into refining the fabrications for comfort and shape. “We started to experiment with this new air layer fabric, which is like a scuba dive neoprene fabric but it’s actually 90 percent cotton,” he added.
Li said he is not opposed to natural fibers such as wool, but that there should be technical approaches to construction that allow the looks to achieve a “disciplined or edited” outer appearance while retaining a tactile feel.