“It’s very ‘fabulous,’” said Han Chong, lifting a red-and-gold marching jacket from the rail in his Farringdon studio, and turning it toward the light so that its thousands of paillettes shimmered. “Wait, no—‘madame.’” He was right. Self-Portrait’s resort 2027 collection seemed built around a certain grande-dame, champagne-clinking look. A cropped lace cardigan trimmed with glossy pelts of chocolate-brown fuzz, a lurex-pleated floral blouse, and a brooch-encrusted, off-the-shoulder blazer looked like the sort of heirlooms a fashion-obsessed twenty-something might unearth in her wealthy grandmother’s closet before throwing them on with capri leggings or jorts for brunch. “Nowadays people dress down to dress up,” the designer added. “That’s the biggest trend.”
Indeed, there is plenty here for those tapped in: bouclé jackets, newly trending thanks to Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, and silk jacquard overcoats that recall a popular Conner Ives design. Chong isn’t especially concerned, however, with accusations of bandwagoning. “If a trend feels in line with the brand, we’ll work out how to do it in our own way,” he said, noting the recent uptick in Westerners seeking out East Asian-inspired dress. (Alexandra Leclerc and Kim Kardashian were photographed in Sau Lee and John Galliano cheongsams, respectively, this summer.) It’s part of his culture, and one he leaned into more directly this season to great effect. Devoré and sequined mesh mini dresses featuring qipao-inspired frog fastenings and stand collars were conceived with Lunar New Year celebrations in mind but, as Chong said, are destined to be worn “universally.” Just as festive was a gold sequined midi skirt with a visible neon-pink lace underlay. Fabulously tacky.
The word Chong used for the coral-like clusters of beads that formed the straps of a jacquard slip dress and the dense flowers that decorated an ankle-length mesh cardigan was “bling.” Achieving that level of ornamentation without sacrificing the wearability Self-Portrait’s customers expect was the real challenge. “When there’s so much design going on, the fabric needs to be light,” he said. “Otherwise it just feels… serious.” And so rhinestone-covered jeans were made from ultra-soft lyocell, and a metallic lurex peplum dress was bonded to a knitted backing so it never felt scratchy against the skin.
Elsewhere, what appeared to be tailored flares were cut from a spandex blend closer to yoga pants than suiting, while the bouclé jackets weren’t bouclé at all, but knitted, to lend them a more relaxed character. Knitwear remains Self-Portrait’s biggest category, and whenever the team considers a new fabrication, Chong’s first instinct is to see whether it can be developed in that textile. “The minute we do that,” he said, “a piece can breathe.” That’s something the models, photographed here during Paris’s recent 100-degree heatwave, were no doubt grateful for.
