As London became enveloped with persistent rain across fashion week, dodging windy spells, bouncing from venue to venue, and keeping up with show schedules, a digital fashion fairytale laid at the very heart of Shoreditch. Renowned French-born Taiwanese designer Claudia Wang returned to London Fashion Week for her FW26 presentation at the Indra Gallery on February 20, showcasing a whimsical world punctuated by dreamlike silhouettes and tactile storytelling.
Known for integrating virtual technology with clothing design and sustainable fashion practices, Claudia Wang has gained traction from the likes of Vogue Taiwan and Tatler Asia, being named Asia’s Most Stylish 2023. The designer’s eponymous label sits at the intersection of fashion and art, bringing childhood imagination to the realms of the metaverse.
For her FW26 presentation, Claudia Wang took a leap into the world of fantasy and dreamlike states. Mellow color palettes bounce from chocolate browns to butter yellows, plush silk pillows stacked up in mounds against industrial concrete floor, and an EnVi personal favorite, embellished anthurium brooches, all had the Claudia Wang touch. Following the presentation, the designer shared via email how her Taiwanese heritage continues to inform her brand and her thoughts on the future of AI technology in fashion practice.
Slumber of Silk
Claudia Wang’s FW26 presentation unfolded like a living fairytale. A digital dreamstate solidified, the phrase, “A glimmer never dazzles, yet it reconfigures our way of seeing the world” was projected on the pillars surrounding the gallery. With the constant duality between the physical and digital world, the atmosphere began to shift. Wang reflected to EnVi, “The focus of this season lies in ‘healing and spiritual softness.’ Amidst economic uncertainty and the rapid flux of our digital future, I sought to create a collection where gentleness serves as a source of strength.” Guests, phones raised and attention lured, saw models emerge across the runway almost floating, or shall we say sleepwalking.
Classic ready-to-wear pieces made an appearance, but reenvisioned. The classic pinstripe shirt had a wider stripe than usual, matched with an asymmetrical fit when buttoned up. Silhouettes reflected the notion of slumber, relaxed and soft, like sleepwear and robes. A standout look from the night featured this pastel blue hued pinstripe set with a textural twist. The sartorial classic, a double-pant double-belt pant had an overskirt, cinched by its pajama style waistband. However, leave it to the bold contrast of the deep burgundy sleeve collars to elevate the look entirely.
Converging fashion and art with ease, Claudia Wang pays homage to the soul in Taiwan’s high-tech modern landscape that coexists with its deep-rooted tradition. “My Taiwanese background manifests not as symbolic representation, but as a mode of perception,” Wang explained with conviction. For natives and tourists alike, the city owns its charm as you see this on the streets of Taipei — modern buildings like Taipei 101 run alongside hundred-years old ancient temples. “Taiwan itself is a highly hybrid entity — where technology coexists with tradition, density intertwines with intimacy, and softness lives in symbiosis with resilience.”
Raspberry Elf
Multiple pieces represented the ways Claudia Wang anchors technological elements with tactility, where online culture and the visual languages of the virtual world come into play. With its alluring and candylike color palette, a bubblegum pink here, and a teal sea green there, screen born prints add a modular dimension. A pencil skirt and high neck long sleeved combo covered in botanical motifs, spatial swirls flow from edge to end. There’s an intentional juxtaposition to them, entirely textural.
She changes the possibility of ready-to-wear, where printed pearls cascade and drape across the chest and AI generated lace essentially streamline the functionality of clothing. Wang explained, “While my past tailoring and prints emphasized intense artistic expression, this season pivots toward a sense of enveloping softness.” Underscoring that sense of enveloping softness, accessories contribute to the sensual and escapist mood. Silk scarves in custom prints tie across belt loops, capturing casual wearability but still elevated by its sculptural styling. To top it off was the usual clutch bag — a plush, mattress-like pillow.
“Although this season incorporates digital imagination, I remain committed to grounding that imagination in materiality — through layered colors, structural details, silhouette pairings, and makeup styling.” Wang told EnVi with sincerity.
Travelling between fiction and function, effortless hair and makeup styling attributed to this season’s otherworldly narrative. Eye makeup was iridescently shimmered pink, so when paired with elf-creature colored contacts, everything felt surreal. Meanwhile, hair took a nocturnal turn. Smooth, 3D-like waves resembled sleep marks, the effortless style that persists when you’ve just woken up from a deep sleep.
“Wearing Claudia Wang is more than just putting on a garment; it is about experiencing a sense of power embodied by fantasy and ethereal landscapes.” Wang added.
The Core of Claudia Wang
Claudia Wang penpoints her brand to emotionally connect with customers, it is wearable, durable, and easy to maintain. However, if you look beyond the whimsical nature of the garments, Taiwan lies at the heart of the brand’s DNA. Wang shared, “I have been particularly inspired by the eclectic contradictions found in daily life in Taiwan — ancient temples sitting adjacent to convenience stores, neon lights reflecting off tropical flora, and narrow alleyways coexisting with high-tech science parks.”
“I am captivated by this juxtaposition of the modern and the traditional, and the friction between AI technology and traditional artistic techniques.” She added. This notion is translated into her digital fairytale, which is bound by flourishing innovation. Alongside the aforementioned printed accessories, functionality is heightened: a babydoll dress was long and fluid in shape, it came in a babydoll pink, accentuated by its ruffled and tiered drop-waist silhouette. 3D meets 2D, screen-translated artistic florals added a joyful feeling, and every modern woman’s dream in a dress, pockets!
Born into an artistic family, her father, renowned painter Wang Ren Jye, and mother, fashion designer Hsu Chiu-Yi, have heavily grounded the philosophy of the Claudia Wang brand. Wang noted, “My family environment and my parents’ vocations have profoundly inspired me, particularly in fostering a more holistic approach to ‘creation.’” Although fashion is a creative outlet, the foundations and laying the groundwork are vital for its longevity, and after all, parents are our first teachers in life.
“Growing up witnessing their creative processes taught me that craftsmanship requires sustained dedication and conviction.”
An Emotional, Tactile Future
As technology begins to permeate the social capital of fashion, Claudia Wang enables technology as an outlet rather than a coping mechanism, making fashion a little greener. The brand thrives in digital screen printing and the digitization of fashion, where form doesn’t always have to be structural, but reflected in the clothing itself. “By utilizing digital prototyping, AI scene construction, and virtual presentation, I minimize unnecessary physical waste.’ Wang shared to EnVi with urgency. “I am even more concerned with ’emotional sustainability’— creating garments that are cherished over time, rather than becoming rapidly consumed disposable luxury items.”
Made for the digitally tapped in, modern woman in mind, Wang innovates her brand to allow customers and wearers to experiment with fashion themselves. It is accessible in their way, they can explore, decide, and innovate with the Claudia Wang brand. Overall, the innovation of functional wear comes first. The designer reflected, “Technology builds systems, whereas fashion cultivates sensation. I am most interested in the intersection of the two — the moment code meets skin, and when virtual landscapes engage with the physical body.”
Longevity in design remains embedded in Claudia Wang’s own brand culture, she described, “Technology need not be inherently cold or mechanical; it possesses the potential to be soft and emotive.” For an emotional feeling, the Claudia Wang woman has space to be experimental with her innovation, to expand, fluctuate, and inevitably — to capture joy.
To explore more of Claudia Wang’s work, be sure to check out their Instagram and their website — claudiawangofficial.com
Looking for more London Fashion Week coverage? Check out EnVi’s feature on Flair Fashion’s Ignite Collective Runway!
