Han Chong is at all times plotting one thing. Within the quick area of simply three months, the designer has—deep breath—launched a 35-look resort assortment; staged essentially the most extravagant of his annual summer season events on the Roof Gardens in Kensington; opened a marble-and-steel flagship within the middle of Bangkok; and welcomed Christopher Kane as Self-Portrait’s first designer-in-residence, (again in 2021, he additionally lifted Roland Mouret’s model out of administration). Even regardless of the implosion of Matchesfashion—the British e-commerce large as soon as offered vital portions of Self-Portait’s flirtatious cocktail items—enterprise continues to bloom and growth.
“We now have 70-something bodily shops in several territories,” Chong stated at a preview of his spring assortment in his sprawling east London studio. “Which suggests I would like to consider Self-Portrait as extra of a life-style model.” There’s solely so many event attire that one individual wants, and so this season, the designer targeted on constructing a flexible, daytime wardrobe to maintain all these store doorways revolving. Cropped nylon windbreakers, drawstring canvas jackets, barrel-legged denims, and button-down skirts in cream denim had been about as sensible as Self-Portrait will get. Elsewhere, knitted polo shirts, collared cardigans, and outsized woolen blazers bearing crystalline pinstripes regarded office-appropriate till styled with sheer skirts and suede sizzling pants. Lace shifts had been designed to be worn over smart camisoles or vacation bikinis. “What do they name it?,” Chong stated. “Value-per-wear?”
However glamour will at all times (at all times) trump pragmatism. The designer was at his most animated when talking in regards to the building on a rhinestone mesh column with swooping again cut-outs. See additionally: the bias-cut silk attire with floral appliqués and the bonded crepe minis that felt sturdier than the sum of their elements. “The Self-Portrait lady used to place extra effort into going out, however she prefers to sit back along with her pals as of late and so the gathering is much less severe because of this. It’s not over-done,” he added. Kane’s soon-to-be-released line of partywear twinkled from a distant rail. “I’m unsure who we’ll invite into the studio subsequent,” Chong stated. “Sabrina Carpenter? Think about a Self-Portrait track of the summer season.”
