The Tamesis
Can a laissez-faire economy spur freewheeling menswear? Uma Wang’s menswear collection recalls a moment in time. The designer said she was inspired by 1930s Shanghai, a thriving creative melee of free trade, the Jazz Age and indigenous traditions that was flourishing but influenced by colonialism: as Wang said at her launch, “a pivotal era when Western modernity first intersected with classical Chinese culture”.
Accessories such as Groucho Marx-style round glasses and a narrow-brimmed bowler hat made in collaboration with Horisaki marked Wang’s starting point. Wang drew sartorial inspiration from the Western period, including chalk-striped patterns and the structure of double-breasted jackets, then exaggerated their dimensions while softening them with structures in washed wool and cashmere blends. Her jacket was cut above her hips and her trousers were cut below her ankles, creating an unusual contrast between the line of her legs and her waistline. Alongside these Western details are contrasting Eastern cues, including disc-button fasteners on weathered wool workwear jackets and printed or pleated crew-neck silk-viscose shirts with asymmetrical hand-tie fasteners.
Between these two edges of her melting pot, Wang places a number of less literal, more abstract works. These include blown-up caban jackets and sailor trousers, pleated collarless tunics and a double-breasted bomber in an irregularly angled herringbone mohair pattern. There are lots of cute work jackets in washed wool or jacquards with floral embellishments. Knitwear includes cashmere and raccoon ribbed knits with contrasting color details. Unique details include a non-bonded reversible collar on the shirt and intentionally distressed contrasting trim on the sweater sleeves.
Designed in Shanghai and made in Italy, the collection’s transnational identity echoes the themes Wang imposed on it: a parallel that seems as purposeful as anything else in her Milan showroom.
