Kim Shui FW25 Collides Western and Eastern Worlds
She takes on resistance and control in a world of monotonous conventionalities.
Photography by Kohl Murdock
Kim Shui doesn’t meet expectations or standards—she consistently exceeds them. This season, the renowned designer takes on resistance and control in a world of monotonous conventionalities. Texture and form always play a significant role in Shui’s pieces and collections, but FW25 had deeper intentions: to challenge the notion that Western and Eastern cultures can’t blend in fashion. Shui collides the two worlds by evoking intimacy and subversion, as well as combining contrasting materials.
Shui exaggerates silhouettes through laser-cut pleather detailing, fringes, drapery, and shredded pieces. Pleather is a firm, structured fabric, but Shui shows how such a strong and durable material can be deconstructed. This sends a message that she’s in control, regardless of what she’s been told and what we assumed about these materials.
FW25’s accessories tap Italian artist Monica Bonvicini, who is known for her architecture, power structures, gender, and space. In one of her most acclaimed pieces, The Marlboro Man Prairie, Bonvicini challenges the norms of masculinity and strength. Through Shui’s disintegration of fabrics, she also raises questions about cultural symbols of rugged individualism and Western ideals.
Photography by Kohl Murdock
The integration of cultures appears in Western-inspired faux fur cowboy hats, button-up shirts with bolo ties, cowboy belts, fringed chaps, cowboy boots, and snakeskin. The serpentine motif in Chinese culture also represents a symbol of renewal, and that pattern is seen on gowns that fuse faux fur and lace, with the fur cut into the shape of two snakes embracing. Faux fur coats adorned with Chinese embroidery, Qi pao collars, and Chinese frog buttons inject traditional Chinese detailing.
Shui sees the body as a canvas, which she dedicates to her accessories. The butt bag was an instant, timeless hit. It has a rounded shape secured with a belt around the waist. The opulent, exaggerated silhouette is accented with two metal Ks. Bra-inspired bags with utility pockets tie across the bust with belts. Small, structured bags with silver "K" logos appear on bag clasps and K bolo tie necklaces.
We see new textiles, concepts, and color palettes, like dark red liquid organza on trench coats, dresses, and blazers, hints of menswear pieces, and dark forest green on faux furs and bags. My first thought was Doechii, the swamp princess, in every green look from this collection. Like Shui’s message in this collection, Doechii also embodies agency, autonomy, and control. The body is seen in different ways in many cultures, and Shui breaks those boundaries by challenging societal constructs of identity and the body’s role in cultural narratives.
