New, new, new, new, new. It’s the fuel of fashion. Being “new” has boosted the London-based line Self-Portrait to a buzzy position on the under-the-radar designer circuit, since designer Han Chong launched the collection two years ago. Revered retailers and celebrities have lapped up Chong’s special-event pieces offering cocktail-attire cool that’s not generic and rings at contemporary prices.
Perhaps it’s not undiscovered any longer, but Self-Portrait was new to New York for spring 2016, having never held a proper presentation before this season. Chong chose to show here to “give a different energy to the collection,” he said. “New York is the right place for modern and feminine romantic pieces.”
Chong’s point of view deserves the attention it has received. The spring collection was stocked with highly detailed looks, a combination of smart, sporty shapes, colors and rich fabrics that were special yet unfussy. Crafty guipure dominated the lineup. Chong kept it clean and modern with lean turtlenecks and slipdresses that paired lace with a simple sporty underlayer in pop contrast colors, such as navy and pink, and blue and orange. Set amongst a chicly eerie pileup of white furnishings meant to evoke an abandoned mansion, Self-Portrait made an impression.
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