Chinese designer closes London Fashion Week

Wang Haizhen, the Chinese designer who won the 2012 Fashion Fringe Award, brought the 5-day London Fashion Week to a close on Tuesday evening.

The 21-look collection bore his signature of masculine femininity and architectural reference. Most of the pieces were black, using wool combined with leather trims.

In an interview with Xinhua, he said that his inspiration sprang from a book he read about Gothic cathedrals..

"Supported by many pillars, that kind of building looks tall and slim, which is also women's desire for clothes," he said.

He spent a long time playing with proportion and different fabrics to do the test.

"But buildings are masculine. How to give the garments of that style an elegant twist is a real problem," Wang said.

To him, the ideal garments for women should be Gothic and dark. "Not the sweet ones," he said.

Graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2005, Wang had been working with Max Mara and Allsaints before founding his own brand. That is why his design emphasized the shape and form, with an apparent Gothic style.

Wang won the 2012 Fashion Fringe Award last September as the first Chinese designer.

"My orders increased, and my name was known to more people," he said.

After the fashion week, he had a plan. "I will go back to China later this year," he said, implying that he might be cooperating with some Chinese brands.

The London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London twice each year. It is among the "Big Four" together with the New York, Milan and Paris fashion weeks.

Started from last Friday, the London Fashion Week ushered 56 catwalk shows and 20 presentations.