The Tamesis
Zane Li is bringing his menswear back to Paris ahead of his women’s show in New York next month. Speaking in a fashion showroom in the Marais district, the designer explained how the concept for this season was born out of his long-standing fascination with cars. Not their engineering or design, but a more contemplative relationship with them: observing the passage of life while traveling between studios and factories in China, or how the speed of a car makes it both exciting (racing) and dangerous (David Cronenberg’s twisted scenes) collision). While the collection wasn’t reminiscent of cinematic autoerotica, Lee explained how all the allusions were incorporated into the layers that make up each look.
“I sit in the car and I feel what people are feeling; what’s going on inside this steel frame can have so much emotion, so much sensitivity. The more time I spend in this environment, the more I think about the marriage of technology and desire,” he explains. “When I design clothes, I try to find a second layer of clothing besides protection.”
His research led him to design sports uniforms, specifically a retro two-tone F1 jacket with a high collar to protect the neck. Iterations shift from performance to streamlined styles, from chic cocoon silhouettes to versatile tunics.
Coordinating with color is one thing; Lee also has a keen eye for applying them, like the turquoise placket that unfolds on a black jacket, or how solid blocks of green and red stand out like shapes on an Ellsworth Kelly canvas. “I think color is like a broad language,” he said. “You don’t have to explain it; it’s just a visual.”
With its turtlenecks, polo shirts and sharp tailoring – all of which lend themselves to regrouping – LII confidently represents the new guard of American sportswear, with the designer noting how the brand builds on the foundation of ’90s style established by the big three of Tommy (Hilfiger), Helmut (Lang) and Calvin (Klein). Lee came to the scene with confidence and determination. He said that holding a more formal show in Paris was one of many dreams, and it sounded like that dream was not far away.
