Asian-American designer Chet Lo Seductive expansion of the seductive world for Spring/Summer 2024The designer is looking to elevate his signature look while remaining true to himself. The designer’s London Fashion Week The Old Selfridges Hotel was bathed in red hues, and the runway was filled with sensual appeal.
Lo’s SS24 collection was grounded in intense sexual desires, seeing him reflect on his repressed childhood and cultural identity. Growing up in an age of digital technology that looked down upon non-white cultures, the designer never felt he belonged with his peers. Lo became more confident this season and opened up a whole new chapter for the label that bears his name.
Seductive co-ed looks revealed bold patches of skin. The show opened with thumping sounds, snaked hair decorations, and futuristic silhouettes. Lo’s Chinese heritage was embraced through his explicit artwork, mirrored on leather jackets and knitted dresses with kissing figures. Japanese Shibari were wrapped in a suggestive loop around necks, arms and dresses.
Lo’s trademark peaked knitwear saw new interpretations this season, unveiling soft peaks grounded in subtlety. The smaller versions adorned slim-fitting tank tops with sheer sleeves and speedos for the pool, while the sharper varieties were seen on relaxed crewnecks or textured hoodies.
Chet says exclusively to Hypebeast:
“This season, I looked a lot at my queer sexuality and the ideas of sexuality in Asian culture. Shibari, Shunga and Ancient Chinese Erotic art are all mentioned. Essentially, as a Chinese-American gay man, I’ve experienced countless racist situations in my dating history, where people will specify “no asians” or etc. As a child, I always wished I could fit the standard of white beauty. Asian beauty was never reflected in porn until it became fetishized. So for this collection, I really wanted to celebrate everything surrounding Asian sexuality and to communicate that we are beautiful, more than a fetish, and should not be self-conscience that we don’t fit into this masc, mustachio-ed, white-centric idea of beauty . At Least that’s how it was for me, so I just basically used this collection as an outlet.
When we started to design the collection, we looked at beautiful references of porn, shunga and Chinese erotica. Then we translated it into a print which was subtler so that the print appeared random up close but revealed the image from afar. This idea was translated into multiple garments, with ties or chinese-knot ties, to create the wrapping effect around the body. In addition, we used our knits in order to create a lace pattern that showed off the print. It was really really fun, but my laptop is now full of NSFW images so it’s a little scary haha.
This season we have experimented with the use of spikes on a softer and lustrouser yarn for a more comfortable fit. For our other techniques we played with devore in order to create a silky and sheer texture in one fabric. We’ve worked really hard to elevate the garments to feel luxurious and cool at the same time and really hope that you guys love it!
I’m so excited to show with NEWGEN again! I am so grateful for the support of the British Fashion Council. I count my blessings as we really wouldn’t be able to create these collections without their guidance and support.”
Take a closer look at Chet Lo’s SS24 collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned for more London Fashion Week coverage on Hypebeast.
Elsewhere, Daniel Lee envisions Burberry’s limitless future for Summer 2024.
