Feature: Chinese young designer makes charming debut in Milan fashion week

A charming collection marked the debut of JUNLI in Italy's Milan recently, where Chinese young designer Li Jun presented his creations for the first time in the official calendar of the fashion week which ended here on Tuesday.

"For me the color choice is always very delicate, because I want to make some colors, but not something too obvious," Li told Xinhua in an interview, commenting his creations shortly after the show.

"I would say I have a grading plan for colors, which are mostly black, white and grey, very simple, but we also have something like a stone color that merges hues together. For the grey we also have different shades, darker or brighter ones," he said.

Regarding the silhouette for the spring summer 2017 season, Li went on saying, "garments have to fit the body very well, but we also put some volumes on the back so that people can move and be free, and feel comfortable when they wear a jacket."

Li designs featured a sleek and minimalistic look, which highlights his experimental take on classic menswear tailoring. In the new collection, he put together a pleated trouser, voluminously cut on the thigh but tapered toward the bottom, that he styled with a short blazer, open shirt and T-shirt combo.

For another exit, a pair of tapered ash-gray culottes were matched with a loosely fitted, elongated vest and blazer, its sleeves carelessly rolled up to the elbows. Without fusing, the canvassed pieces were transparent and lightweight. Tailored for a fitting form, exposed seam accented in suiting canvas which is traditionally known as the internal construction of a tailor jacket.

Li said his collection drew inspiration from the works of German artist Anselm Kiefer, known for their heart-sinking references.

"I would say my collection is not exactly something to visualize taken from Kiefer's works, but more from the inside, it is more like taking the mood from his works," he explained to Xinhua.

"Like being in an after-scene of raging storm, a silent shock of destruction piercing right through the witness's heart ... To Li, the force of destruction inspires and urges its counterbalance - the power to recreate," were the words used in a statement from JUNLI to describe the designer's creative spirit.

What kind of man should be wearing JUNLI clothes? "They are men with a calm attitude, sophisticated, men who know what they want," the designer elaborated.

"My jackets are very tailored, we have some very different details on them, so it is more like you have to understand who you are. You want to wear something which may look similar to the others, but you know it is completely different," he told Xinhua.

Li launched his own label after he moved from Shanghai to London to study menswear at the London College of Fashion.

"What I learnt is from Western people, but I am Chinese. There is a very oriental soul in my heart, so when I design I have a more abstract side in making the garments," he told Xinhua.

Presently JUNLI is selling at selected boutiques in Europe and China. Li's agenda for the coming weeks is very full.

"I am going to Paris tomorrow, where we will have our showroom. At the start of July,I will go back to Shanghai. There I will prepare for the production of this season and will start doing the fabric researching for the next season," he explained to Xinhua.

"I have opened a small factory in Shanghai. We do all the production in house now, and as we have a lots of tailored things we have to control the production very carefully," he highlighted.

Li's runway in Milan was part of a new project kicked off by the Milan-based National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI) to support the new generations of designers.

"I found the JUNLI collection very good, advanced, with a rigorous but also a modern style at the same time," CNMI honorary president Beppe Modenese told Xinhua after attending the show.

"The young talents we have chosen represent the international future of fashion, whose task is uniting people around the world," he said. Endit