Denim at Leonard? Once unthinkable, it was just one of Yiqing Yin’s concepts for freshening up the brand this season. The designer was inspired by the technique of printmaking, and delved into the blueprints that go into Leonard’s signature silk motifs.
Chalk drawings were overlaid and scanned to form patterns that she printed on materials ranging from denim to silk gazar. They appeared in a patchwork of blue shades on dungarees and on cool drape-fronted pants worn with a shirt tied above the waist.
“I’m fascinated by the process. That’s where I find the most beautiful surprises and accidents,” Yin said backstage. “I like to work like that, so I tried to bring this philosophy to the house. It has such a rich research process that it was really a shame not to use it and play around with it.”
The sporty pieces contrasted with knotted and belted robes and dresses in feather-light silk printed with oversize Oriental floral patterns, some of which were fractured and splintered into geometric motifs. The freedom with which Yin rummaged through the archives was a breath of fresh air.