Xiao Li: Knitwear and Silicone Sculptural Clothing
IN THE WEEKLY RUBRIC "NEW MARK" Wonderzine presents young designers and tells where and how you can buy their things. Our heroine this week is the founder of a personalized clothing brand, designer with Chinese roots, Xiao Li, who has won about 5 awards, including Diesel Award and H & M Award.
Chinese Xiao Li received a design education in London: she first entered the bachelor's department of women's clothing design at London College of Fashion, and then the magistracy at Royal College of Art in the direction of women's knitwear design. During her studies, she won an Italian competition among brands working with knitwear, "Feel the Yarn", and also had an internship at the houses of Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen.
In the year of release, Xiao Li founded the brand name. The main feature of Xiao Li is the work with 3D knitting. So, the designer shows voluminous things of pastel colors: coats, dresses, skirts, sweaters, some of which look as if they were pumped with air from the inside. In 2013, the ingenuity of Xiao Li was noticed and she received two awards at once: Loro Piana Award in the nomination “The best knitwear collection” and Diesel Award as “international talent”. The second prize allowed the designer to undergo an internship at Nikola Formichetti, and together with Diesel and Milanese 10 Corso Como to release a small capsule, which included skirts, jackets, and high-tech silicone-coated denim vests.
In 2014, Xiao Li became the finalist of the H & M Award and the winner of the Fashion Scout Merit Award. It is noteworthy that in the autumn-winter collection, the designer included not only things from volumetric knitwear and a grid, but also continued to work with silicone and rubber, creating things from innovative materials. Not surprisingly, after all this, i-D magazine called Xiao Li the main new designer in Britain. Now designer clothes are sold in the main concept stores around the world: Milan and Chinese 10 Corso Como and at Opening Ceremony in the States.
Knitwear can look futuristic. Despite the fact that jersey is a soft and shapeless material, I managed to create a new knitwear technique and show things of sculptural forms inspired by the architecture and works of the Balenciaga house. For me, it is important that many of my things are made from recycled materials. Clothes Xiao Li, despite its innovative, suitable for everyday wear. My favorite things are a huge yellow sweater and silicone jewelry.