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Friday 5 September 2014

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS15| Apu Jan





Apu Jan will be showing with Fashion Scout for the fourth consecutive season this month, having previously shown his ‘Petroleum’, ‘The Signal’ and ‘Turbulence’ collections to critical acclaim.

Taiwanese Apu Jan, now based in London, graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Fashion Womenswear, specialising in knitwear. For Jan, knitwear provides an opportunity to create a whole new world using just thread without the need for additional materials, a world in which imagination meets sophistication and history takes a flight of fancy.

Commended by the likes of Vogue, Wallpaper* and i-D, traditional oriental myths receive a modern interpretation, realised in fluid silhouettes, Eastern-inspired beauty looks and a restrained colour palette with one bold accent hue. Wearable separates emblazoned with modern prints by Ying Wu make for commercial collections, a touch of the avant-garde present in deep v necks, voluminous collars and peekaboo millinery.

Speaking about his childhood, Jan states that he always loves creativity, arts and crafts, reading books and watching films in particular, but can’t say that he always saw his career path lie in design. But a BA in Textile Design at Fu Jen University brought out an undeniable talent for turning mythical inspirations into fringed, frilled and draped knitwear of the most elegant kind. ‘There are so many stories I would like to develop into clothing; some of them have been in my mind for a while…. Once the story has matured I will start to design clothes and let them speak’.

Apu Jan will take to the Fashion Scout catwalk on Sunday 14th at 11:30am.

By Isabella Silvers, Contributor, (@izzymks).

Images, by Oliver Savage.