Q&A | Rui Zhou Fall/ Winter 2020

MFA Parsons’ grad, Rui Zhou, celebrated the success of her third collection during NYFW. The Fall/ Winter 2020 collection, “Adrift,” is symbolic of the designer’s travel between China and New York: “Sometimes I feel like I am roaming and wandering around a bubble-like outer space, it makes me anxious and confused. But I enjoy living this lifestyle, being adrift in the big city, being around people with a diverse background, culture, and temperament,” Rui states, “I am like a migratory bird.” In a post-fashion week interview, Flaunt spoke with Zhou discussing her recent collection, Zen Buddhism and Wabi-Sabi interests, and the study of space between a human and garment.

Growing up, you were influenced by Zen Buddhism and the Wabi-Sabi Japanese aesthetic. How do you apply those philosophies in your work and this collection, especially?

I think philosophies is a kind of world view rather than a methodology, so it's really hard to disassemble which parts are connected with Wabi-sabi and which parts are connected by Zen... We embrace life and the all differences in between.

What inspired the name of the collection, “Adrift?”

The name was decided by accident. Last year, I saw a very mini student architecture exhibition with my family in Guangzhou, their title is "Adrift". I've been traveling between China and New York a lot in the last few years. I feel I am like a migratory bird, it makes me anxious and confused. But I enjoy this lifestyle, young people adrift in the big city, people with diverse backgrounds, cultures, temperaments, and ages all coming together.

What informed the neutral color pallet for this collection?

In my eyes, the soft, pastel and natural texture can re-create the feeling of wandering.

Having studied the space between skin and garment, what have you learned?

I’m still learning!

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Photography by: Carolyne Loreé