RIVERPEACE.CO

The Leisure and Longevity collection I did is student work, I [was] trying to embrace Chinese culture, as well as some Chinese medicine therapy in the collection, and it was more experimental. As you can see, the silhouette is kind of extraordinary, and it's not that easy to wear in daily life, but when I decided to open my own brand, which is very physical, I decided to make it more customer friendly. It needs to be beautiful, as well as easy to wear. So, I changed my design decisions from more experimental to beauty [focused, infused with] easy to wear [designs]. So that was my debut at London Fashion Week that I made, which was the collection called, Emotions of River, which was connected to my brand's name, RIVERPEACE.CO. And that collection signifies my beginning of my brand’s rebellions, as well as the technology focused sense of my brand.

As you mentioned, I have attended London Fashion Week twice, and I want to address my experience of that, because that also answers your question. The first time, I was invited by the venue called Fashion Scout, and I was very honoured to showcase my debut collection in Shoreditch, East London. I gained my first fans then. And I also got some interviews from Fashion Scout. The second time, I was invited by FxFashion UK, and the venue was even bigger and more prestigious. I had the experience to showcase at Stationers’ Hall, which is a historical building in London. I was really, really thrilled to showcase [my collection] at that place, and I got more sales from that time. Customers’ comments are very important to me, because I want to do something that pleases, to please myself, but the audiences as well. I collect their comments and try to put that into my brand's philosophy as well, which [led to] the current collection that I have. It’s called Pisces Era, which. It was inspired by the Zodiac star sign Pisces, my star sign, and it was important for me because rebellious[ness], spirituality and creativity are the three main things that I was striving for in this collection.

Yeah, exactly. That [Pisces printed top] is the first piece that attracts people's attention. This [new] collection will be expanded on over six months, and I will release two to five pieces each month.

Of course there is. In this collection, we have certain pieces that are the incarnation of ideas: divinity, creativity and rebellion. We are also [aiming] to put out a new collection of our shoes. [The Blade Heels are] a strong statement of our brand, its essence and the sense of discussion at the same time. What our brand is trying to say is that true inner peace, because it's called Riverpeace, which originates from the translation of my Chinese given name, Jiangning, true inner peace is not found by escaping life's challenges or by doing meditation or yoga. For me, it's more about embracing the challenges. That's the statement of power. My brand is not only about fashion, it is also about exploring human expression and inner strengths, especially, I would say women's strength.

And each design is aimed to help the wearers to find their balance in this chaotic world, while showcasing their individuality.

Yeah, exactly. I think the Blade Heels are a good example of that. You can see from the blade there, it's like a weapon. When I designed the blade heels, I just want to design something that women can armour themselves with, and they feel like they're confident and safe when wearing, which is the main thing.

That's a really good connection. Our brand symbolises rebellion, strength and tranquillity. We go beyond surface beauty by challenging conventional ideas and merging elegance and power together. That's how we merge tranquil and rebellion, the two contradictory words together. And we believe only through engaging life's challenges and life's complexity and uncertainty that you can achieve inner peace.

Yes, for this collection I did not choose to do a fashion show because I felt curating this shoot, I have more say in the process the whole release of the production. Because when you work with the Fashion Week venue, sometimes you cannot choose your photographers, or sometimes you cannot choose the style of the venue like the place you want to be in, right? But by doing this [shoot], I can place more [of my] brand’s philosophy into the settings, for example, or for the styling part. I think that this is a better way.

Yes, but that's not the only reason I'm doing it. After I analysed the result of sales and influence that I made last season, I felt it was not necessarily the best option for my brand to get into [another] fashion show. I think it’s really rewarding for brands that are already built. If have you have buyers, and your circle of people you invite to the runway show. But like my brand, [you’re] still starting up, trying to let the world know, I think it is better to do frequent showcases on [social] platforms, like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Doing that, I can do it whenever I want. But if you're doing the runway show only twice a year, you also put a lot of budget in it.

So ethical for me, I would say is in three parts. The first one is ethically working with your colleagues or your interns. They all work in legal hours, and I will never let them overwork. The second ethic is our sourcing of fabric, which is very important for my brand. For all the fabric that I use in this collection, I went to every factory to see how they produce. Some of them are artificial materials, and some are upcycled materials, and some are natural materials. There is a mix, and I know all the compositions, like the 95% wool and 5% camel coat.

Some of them are in the southern part of China, and some of them are in Italy. They gave me a tour and let me see, and they also gave me these books with little swatches. I collected a lot and then tried to find out which were most suitable for production.

Yes, for example, the material used for the wool coat is an upcycled material from a wool production factory in China. To be honest, this colour is not the most favourite one, according to the manufacturer. So, they have plenty of dead stock. But, for me, as a designer, I think [deadstock] has a lot of value in it, and I think the colour is appealing.

Yeah, it is. And for the [Pisces printed top], I believe it is a material from the [English] printing factory. For that one, I want to say, it is a customised material, because for that specific piece it is hard to achieve the stretchiness if you're working with [other] materials.

That's a really lovely question. During my MA, I went to school in London, at the Royal College of Art. At that time, I travelled all over the UK, I went to Edinburgh, Canterbury, Bristol, the South, lots of places, I can't remember some of their names, but Bristol had a strong impact, because I feel it is a great place for creative people to live. It is not as busy as London. You’ve got the peacefulness and all the good support from the community, as well as that creative and rebellious community of young people. I was really attracted to the city. So that's the reason.

I would say it is something completely different. Though I've seen a lot of very special shoes in different runway shows, like the shoe Alexander McQueen designed, the ball shaped [Armadillo] shoe. I was really amazed by those shoes. But when I designed the Blade Heels, it 100% of my own whimsy. The Blade Heels are more than just shoes.

When I first designed them, it was hard to make them become a reality. So, I partnered with professionals, creating a 3D model first in the software blender. After the first model was made, we took a long time to choose the material, because there are hundreds that you can work with in 3D printing. Finally, we chose the most advanced technology called metal powder 3D printing. All the heels are made from teeny tiny metal powders that are pressed at a high temperature and moulded. We have a good connection with these industry professionals, and thus we can produce them whenever we want. Bringing beauty and high tech together is something that we want to do.

When I say high dimensions, I [mean] something that is unknown or spiritual or even connected to the field of astrology, because I'm an expert in astrology. I [haven’t before shared] that to my audience, [astrology is] something that inspired me to do fashion as well as life. When exploring astrology theories, I would feel like it was really something that was hard to mention, and it was mysterious, but sometimes it could really guide you to the right place. Some people say you cannot do astrology because it's not scientific, but it is scientific. When you collect enough statistics from people around you, doing research, collecting their birthdays and their state [or circumstances], you find similarities in certain stars that you are working with.

During my BA in Los Angeles, at that time I did not study fashion.

Yes, and I felt like Economics is not the thing that I wanted to pursue in my heart. So, I found myself a little bit depressed, not [with] real depression, but a little bit depressed. At that time, I encountered a fortune teller in the US, and I forget if he was really correct at telling my life, but the emotional support and the psychological support that I gained from the fortune teller really gave me a new vision of life.

I would say the three words are: well crafted, beauty, and creativity.