30/5/2024
Gutong Chen's Wearable Landscape offers an exploration of the human body through the lens of Eastern living and traditional Chinese aesthetics. She is inspired by people’s daily bathing rituals and intends to unearth the body and gender hidden through the creative process.
The core concept of the collection revolves around the intersection of the physical and virtual worlds. By embracing the fluidity of water and its ability to transform and distort the human form, Chen's work beautifully integrates the abstract and decorative aspects of Chinese landscape painting. The body is presented as a hill or stone—solid yet ever-changing—reflecting the harmony between humans and nature. This reimagining of the human form allows for a unique and surreal interpretation that challenges conventional perceptions of fashion and art.
Chen's creative process involves a mix of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology “Zbrush”, which is a digital sculpting tool, was employed to model the human body structure into a 3D costume. The use of sustainable materials for 3D printing further enhances the eco-friendly aspect of the collection, demonstrating a commitment to exploring innovative and responsible fashion practices.
The fusion of fashion and wearable art underscores Gutong Chen's passion for exploring new forms of expression while staying connected to the natural world. This symbiosis between humans and nature, achieved through the creative use of sustainable materials and innovative technologies, offers a fresh vision of fashion design. Chen's collection is a testament to the power of imagination and the ability to push the boundaries of traditional fashion. By embracing the concepts of disassembly and reassembly, the collection transforms the human body into something both familiar and abstract, allowing viewers to experience fashion as an art form that is as thoughtful as it is aesthetically striking.
Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, graduated from London College of Fashion in 2021 with a bachelor's degree, postgraduate at the Royal College of Art, fashion designer, focusing on womenswear discipline and exploring the new form of fashion in the future world.
Gutong often works in a variety of mediums such as sculpture, wearables and video, and experiments on the uses of sustainable materials and innovative technologies. Inspired by the natural world, the creative collection integrates fashion and wearable art and explores the symbiosis of humans and the natural world.