New Zealand-born designer Claudia Li casted all Asian models (35 to be exact) to debut her first runway show.
Claudia Li’s collection delivered key trends for the upcoming season: oversized silhouettes, cinched belting and bold prints.
Li showcased bright floral separates, fuchsia silk tunics and hand-stitched flower appliques, but that’s not to say that she didn’t send plenty of classics down the runway too. There was a clean mix of simple trousers and collared shirts paired with tailored shorts.
The New Zealand-born designer casted all Asian models (35 to be exact) to debut her first runway show, sparking an important conversation about diversity in fashion.
« Connecting back to the idea of wanting to reflect more of myself, this casting used faces of girls that I understand, grew up with, and look like me to showcase the collection. It helps that it tied into a larger cultural conversation we’re having at the moment. The fact that Awkwafina from Crazy Rich Asians attended and showed her support was the icing on the cake, » Li exclusively explained to AOL.
« The expected standard is only one or two Asian models in any given fashion show, and I so used my show to combat the notion that there’s a singular version of Asian femininity. You meet the girls in my show! They’re all unique and have really amazing but different styles, looks, backgrounds and personalities. The runway helped me show that message to the world, and I thought this was a really important and timely, » the designer added.
