In Conversation with Chan Chit Lo: Unlocking their Latest Inspiration; Parenthood!
Work, no sleep, repeat. If you can relate to this lifestyle statement then you must be a designer in the midst of Fashion Week or you are new to parenthood. Or maybe even both!
Photo via Chan Chit Lo by Brent Chua
Parenthood takes a new form as Chan Chit Lo debuts their SS´24 “Cherished Beginnings” collection during NYFW. Unlocking their latest inspirational character; first-time parents!
The young New York - Shanghai based label led by creative designer Venus Lo is one of those rare gems Fashion Week gets to savor, a brand that uniquely and beautifully separates fashion from trends and reconnects it to what we so desperately need; art!
To understand Chan Chit Lo’s humane and artistic approach we need to go back in time. It all started in 2017 when Venus found inspiration while going through her late fathers object collection. Her fathers connection to every object is a narrative of how humans love and cope. Alas Hoarders came to be! From there on Chan Chit Lo has tapped into the exploration of different working professions, this time around they are introspecting on their own as they welcomed baby Lucas just 8 months ago!
Photo via Chan Chit Lo by Brent Chua
In the words of Venus Lo and Jazzy Li; “There is no rest when taking care of our next generation.” “Parenthood is not easy, it’s a lot of work. We wanted to showcase the love new parents discover when welcoming new life and also the amount of sweat, work and love it goes into being a new parent”.
Who said being a new parent wasn’t cool? Venus and Jazzy got to experience the hardships and joys of welcoming a new life. While most new parents get to go through this impermanent state in silence, Venus and Jazzy, blessed with their creative minds, got to create a collection that has forever immortalized what being a new parent looks and feels like in 2023.
“This is our real life experience. We find ourselves going through different feeding hours, new worries and lots of new accessories needed to take care of the baby.” Same accessories that inspired the silhouettes in Cherished Beginnings. Catch the breastfeeding pillow doubling as the coolest accessory! Belts move aside.
Flower motifs, adorned crocheted plum blossoms that double as bags and pockets embedded with Venus’ unique storytelling vision. “Motifs and graphics I used on our knitwear were inspired by the shadows created by the pregnant belly.” Same shadows we see on the beautiful graphics.
“We focused on this impermanent look we and all new parents morph into, an impermanent state.” -Jazzy
I got to talk to Venus and Jazzy right after their last NYFW presentation and people really don’t lie when they say eyes are the window into one's soul. As we started our conversation about sustainability and the meaning behind creating something meaningful and truly luxurious both their eyes lit up with what I can only describe as pure passion.
A passion for paving their own path backed by what they know and feel to be right; creating sustainable fashion that narrates human experiences. We discussed all things art and found common ground in the idea that fashion is nothing more than one of humans most intimate creations. That is where their power beholds, Chan Chit Lo’s design voice is clear and very loud; “one man's trash is another man’s treasure”.
Cherished Blessings crochet details brought to life the collections flower motifs and reinterpret Chan Chit Lo’s utilitarian design with crochet flowers that double as pockets and bags. Neutral colors that continue on the theme of shadows and lights with beige knitwear and off white trousers. Minimalistic, utilitarian, fresh, unisex garments that evoke the 24\7 working hours of parenthood.
Venus and Jazzy invited us into their innermost intimate thoughts as dancers swayed and moved to the beat of each other's movements in a poetic dance that captured the collection's essence. Every twist, turn and glance showed the multi-functionality of Venus’ designs.
Photo via Chan Chit Lo by Brent Chua
“Love for life, a baby's growth is measured through days, months and years. Just as a garment is built through threads, stitches and panels. New beginnings, cherished forever.”
Just like parenthood fashion isn’t an easy ride, just ask Jazzy. “We face many challenges as a young brand. How to reach a wider audience is a challenge, but we know that if we continue showing our work and continue believing in our ideas we will. This field is saturated by talent, so talent is not enough. You need a community and to find your design voice to truly connect with people. We want to do our part and even though it's hard at the beginning we know it will amount to what we know and trust.”
Talking about challenges, this is your reminder that beautiful things, like the idea of Fashion Week, it's not all easy breezy. The hours up to the show were met with pouring rain but that didn’t stop the Chan Chit Lo crew to get the venue ready and that’s where the real beauty lies. Again, just like Chan Chit Lo’s philosophy says; it's all about the human experience and how humans live in this world. It’s all worth it, “it is incredible to finally see your vision come to live! After months of planning everything coming together is incredible.”
Where luxury meets human connections.
