Subversion met manga on the runway at Shanghai Fashion Week with SHUSHU/TONG's SS22 collection

Shanghai Fashion Week was become one of the most important fashion weeks around the world, and has just wrapped up its Spring/Summer 2022 showcase with a triumphant return after COVID. The pandemic saw the industry busy in China because on the runway, some of China’s most promising emerging young designers presented collections that really solidified China’s position as a leader of cutting edge fashion — especially SHUSHU/TONG.

Designers Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang debuted their spring/summer collection which took inspiration from 70s manga series Aim for the Ace!. It blended the brand’s signature Victoriana-tinged prom dresses with fun pastel colouring and clean silhouettes, which was met with a romantic, dark, vintage and futuristic mood at the same time. The pieces themselves had a space-age vibe that met with a kinderwhore look. Babydoll dresses, ribbons, flowers, silky materials and SHUSHU/TONG’s signature hardcore bottoms with Mary-Janes flooded the catwalk, which was a bright pink hallway backdrop with tennis balls scattered across it. While the models were dressed in matching tennis sets and pastel prom dresses, it was contrasted with uplifting afro house music soundtracking the show.

Aim for the Ace! was a 1973 manga series about a pretty high school student, Hiromi Oka, who aspired to become a professional tennis player as she faced various challenges including mental illness, anxiety and romantic issues. “When we’re designing, we usually have a specific person in mind, she’s strong, brave, and has a free spirit,” explained Lei to Dazed.

The designers have also said to Gay Times that music was one of their biggest inspirations while creating the collection.

“The main thing that really helps me focus on the work is music. Whether it is in the background when I am sketching, fitting or just brainstorming with my team, there is always music on as it really helps me focus.”

SHUSHU/TONG was founded in 2015 by longtime friends Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang, who both studied fashion in London and return to China and started the bubbly brand, where it went on to make waves in the Gen-Z culture, finding a home within a community of customers who want to express their individuality through distinctive garments.

With their active online and offline presence, SHUSHU/TONG now has over 20 renowned global stockists, including Nordstrom, Ssense, Harrods and Farfetch.

Watch SHUSHU/TONG’s manga-inspired Spring/Summer 2022 collection below and know more about the brand here.

[via DAZED]