Sankuanz’s creative director Shangguan Zhe gleaned inspiration this season from the dakinis, which are mystical deities worshipped in Asia and believed to be both aggressive and beautiful. They are all about freedom of the self.
Zhe channeled this mysticism and duality into a collection artfully melding aspects of ancient traditional clothing from China, his birthplace, with more Western shapes. It’s a sartorial elixir he keeps fine-tuning season after season.
Zhe’s signature style now includes crossed collars and jacket fronts, as well as hip-hugging belts. This strong collection was particularly rich in denim.
The show opened with an asymmetric khaki jacket with oversized sleeves, a rolled hem and one elongated shoulder. That was worn over a short denim skirt with an unfinished hem. A blue plaid wraparound shirt, with lacing up one side, came paired with slouchy jeans featuring an off-kilter, button-up fly.
The designer also crafted silk jacquards and taffetas. Colorways ranged from earth hues to light yellow and blue. Some garments had camo prints. One look, on a model whose face and neck were painted a fiery red, included a deconstructed jacket that appeared to be twisting around her body. The matching skirt was made of a jacket hanging upside-down, sleeves apparent.
Zhe’s trademark dagger motif extended into more shoes and bags for spring. The motif appeared in an earring, too. Sankuanz jewelry included necklaces adorned with gold-plated wire knots traditionally used as prayer beads in China. Earrings dangled with metallic motifs of male and female body shapes.