Is a garment merely a garment, or is it the embodiment of suppressed memories, emotions seeping from a mother’s wardrobe, and cityscapes? Taiwanese designer C.T. Liu, on his journey from cinema to fashion, transforms the past into the present, function into aesthetics, and fragility into strength with CPLUS Series. Each collection is a story; each stitch a note against time. Liu’s aesthetic approach, which he calls “ugly chic,” proclaims that beauty lies not in perfection but in the imperfect.
You studied film before entering the fashion world. How did that transition come about and how do you connect cinema and fashion in your creative work?
My transition from film to fashion design stemmed from my fascination with visual storytelling and character development. After studying fashion design at Shih Chien University in Taipei, I began infusing garments with cinematic layering, dramatic tension, and chiaroscuro style narratives, translating these elements through fabric textures, deconstructed tailoring, and what I call kinetic visual language akin to a film’s storyboard rhythm. I credit cinematic techniques, composition, lighting, character arcs, as foundational to my design ethos. For CPLUS Series, I transform abstract emotions into wearable stories via cuts, materials, and colour palettes. My Spring/Summer 2024 collection, inspired by landscape urbanism, employed distressed denim and faded jacquards to mimic temporal erosion, capturing post-rain urban ephemeral vistas as wearable art.
You began designing under your own name, C.T.LIU, before launching CPLUS Series in 2018. What led you to make that change and what kind of vision were you hoping to bring to life through the brand?
The 2018 launch of CPLUS Series marked a deliberate shift toward utilitarian aesthetics beyond commercial constraints. While my early label C.T.LIU prioritised experimentation, CPLUS Series balances urban modernism with the versatility of contemporary women, employing subtractive design e.g., detachable details. to embody the brand’s plus philosophy, maximising style through minimalism.
One of the key aesthetics of CPLUS Series is the idea of ugly chic. What does that term mean to you personally and how do you explore or reinterpret it through your designs?
I define ugly chic as a rebellious reimagining of traditional elegance. My collections celebrate irregular silhouettes, exposed seams, and dissonant material pairings e.g., rigid fabrics juxtaposed with delicate textiles, to create intentionally unfinished statements that subvert perfectionism. Exaggerated proportions, raw edges, and strategic distressing challenge conventional beauty norms, whether deconstructing sweater sets or redefining the dress-to-body relationship. For me, this aesthetic echoes the radical pragmatism of maternal wardrobes: rooted in domestic authenticity rather than gloss, prioritising texture over ostentation, and favouring nostalgia over futurism.
Your collections often include upcycled pieces, sometimes using clothing from your mother’s wardrobe. Does that process feel emotional or symbolic for you, beyond being a creative method?
Repurposing garments from my mother’s wardrobe transcends sustainability, it’s an act of preserving familial legacy. My SS25 collection featured upcycled vintage fabrics reconfigured into modern designs, framing fashion as a dialogue between personal history and future. This process transforms private memories into public sartorial language, as seen in my Vogue Fashion Fund 2024 finalist entry Marni Remade, where deadstock materials were re-engineered into a new wardrobe manifesto. Techniques like raw hemming, visible patchwork, and laser-cut collage assemble childhood fragments, lace remnants evoke fractured memories, while timeworn treatments spark discourse on impermanence.
Your Spring/Summer 2025 collection focused on the theme of the appearance of time. Could you explain how you approached that idea? In what ways do past, present and future come together in the collection?
The collection contrasts Western hippie influences with the evolution of Chinese maternal style from Mao-era utilitarian uniforms e.g., Zhongshan suits, hand-knit sweaters, to 90s Westernised pride, denim, floral dresses. I recontextualise these generational shifts through upcycling: distorted knits become avant-garde separates (Look 26), while translucent organza overlays plastic-shard appliqués (Look 11). The unfinished ethos persists via asymmetrical draping and material clashes, challenging perfection through what I term beautifully broken forms.
CPLUS Series is recognised for its innovative fabrics and deconstructed silhouettes. When you start designing, what usually comes first for you, the concept or the material? And what draws you to a particular fabric?
Abstract stimuli — poetry, psychological theories, inform my creative launches, followed by material experimentation. I gravitate toward paradoxical textiles, stiff leather against airy tulle, or sculpted organdy paired with destroyed denim, harnessing their narrative potential through innovative techniques.
How do you imagine CPLUS Series evolving over the next five years? Will global expansion, sustainability or new technologies become more central to your vision?
Priorities include advancing sustainable innovation, upcycling tech, and digital presentations. Globally, I’ll maintain dual-city showcases between NYC and Shanghai to amplify narratives for modern East-West women.
Fashion is a demanding and fast-paced field. Can you share a moment in your career that was particularly challenging or one that made you feel especially proud?
Highlights include multiple Shanghai Fashion Week awards, being a 2024 Vogue Fashion Fund China finalist, and crafting Rihanna’s custom for Vogue+ cover gown.
What motivates you the most during the design process? Is it personal emotion, the wish to challenge conventions or a more abstract concept?
I design to explore the multiplicity of female identity. And my work rejects singular definitions, empowering wearers to shift personas from corporate sleek by day to techno-rebel by night through modular, judgment-free wardrobes.
Beyond fashion, what inspires or excites you creatively? Are there any other passions such as music, cinema or cultural movements that influence your way of thinking?
Influences range from Rilke’s poetry to postmodern architecture and electronic beats. My SS24 line channeled urban theorist Charles Waldheim’s work into garment contours.
If you could bring one material to life, with no limits on shape or colour, what would you choose and what would you create?
I envision memory fibres — fabrics that morph in colour and texture with wearers’ emotions, blurring fashion and performance boundaries.
You have mentioned that your mother and grandmother influenced your perspective on fashion. How did their relationship with clothing or their sense of style shape your design philosophy?
My mother and grandmother’s thrift-shop ingenuity and understated elegance shaped my functional luxury ethos, ensuring wearability never sacrifices artistry.
Outside your fashion career, what would your ideal life look like? Where would you live and what would a meaningful and fulfilling day involve for you?
My dreams is a countryside retreat devoted to reading, gardening, and film, a slow-living sanctuary for creative renewal.
