office caught up with designer Kim Shui before the opulent runway show on February 12, to talk collection inspiration, empowerment, and demanding freedom through clothing and beyond.
Your collections always celebrate fierce femininity and unbridled confidence in the self. In what ways does the AW23 collection portray these signature themes of yours, but in new and unprecedented ways?
This collection speaks to topical events that have been going on lately and in the past year. It's really looking at this contrast between public versus private spaces and how women move within public and private spheres. So I think it's taking what's part of our brand DNA and now looking at it in a context that's relevant to what's going on today. I would say the overarching theme for it that we really look at is public versus private and what that dialogue means because I think women are held to different standards in both spaces. I wanted to start this conversation about, 'Okay, what really are those standards? What is expected of women in those environments?' And I wanted to examine that, especially when it comes to what we are expected to wear.