Elegie By Clavin Luo

Paris

---

October12, 2020

On Saturday, November 3rd,2020 Calvin Luo presented his latest collection virtually, during the Paris Fashion Week. Luo introduced “Elegie” through a minimalist but intriguing 2 min video clip, illustrating a model changing looks scene by scene. But Let’s talk about the brand first.

CALVIN LUO

Calvin Luo founded his eponymous label in 2014 following a two-year study at Parsons in New York City. The Shanghai-based label debuted on schedule at New York Fashion Week for SS'18, followed by a stand-alone menswear collection the following year. SS’20 marked the label’s first entry on the Paris Calendar. Luo likes to put a spin on a temporal reference. His collections have explored the subcultures of ‘50s-era Americana, the dazzling ‘70s, a “Virgin Suicides” tainted ‘90s suburban America and New York City at the turn of the ‘90s. From these time vignettes always emerges a strong and focused story, which has helped to position himself in the foreground of a global fashion scene. Calvin Luo is also the founder of Rouge Fashion Book, China’s first independent fashion and art magazine.

Elegie

Spring/Summer 2021 Collection Elegies In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Robert Motherwell intended his “Elegies to the Spanish Republic” to be a visual lamentation or funeral song. He described the Elegies as his "private insistence that a terrible death happened that should not be forgotten”. With a series of paintings characterized by severe black strokes against white canvases, he translated a synchronous emotional charge of a certain severity. Reflecting on our own corollary to global events, Calvin Luo was drawn to the empathetic work of Robert Motherwell. While Motherwell's story is mainly a black and white one, Luo was particularly struck by the way color punctuates the series. It is in this punctuation of color that Calvin saw a glimpse of hope. It was this moment that solidified Calvin to regard fashion as a medium for social development and change; to deliver a story in the now, all while dreaming of better days.

The CALVINLUO Spring/Summer 2021 collection is mainly an empathetic black and white story, accentuated with details and color. Like hope piercing through the monotony, childish optimism battling bitterness, innocence overtaking the harsh reality to an awakening. This collection is severe for Calvin - angular silhouettes with black and white contrasts echo Motherwell’s rigidity. But pleats, flounces, gradient patches, and floral embroidery all make Luo’s story a hopeful one; one that longs for the return of childlike notions, innocence, and naivety.

Discover the silhouettes of the fashion show