This fashion week 1×1 Studio showed off their newest SS21 collection ‘Commitment’ on a virtual runway. The message behind this collection coming from the events of the pandemic as designer Yi-Ling Kuo was reminded of cherished memories with family, and realising the things that truly matter in life. Along with wanting to spread a message of one’s commitment to something, whether it be love, life or something different, Yi-Ling wanted to remind us that change comes with commitment. And that message resonates throughout 1×1 studio. One of their key aims and pursuits is to be a sustainable fashion house, while keeping aesthetics at the forefront; allowing sustainability and aesthetics to work harmoniously throughout every collection.
For this SS21 collection Yi-Ling wanted to create a mixture of fantasy within everyday fashion by mixing futuristic styles and fabrics while up-holding the studio’s zero-waste policy. The collection is made up of some staple knitwear pieces which are all 100% handmade, with features of crystal design patterns, translucent fabrics and reutilised paper trim detailing. The philosophy of the brand is to embody the wearers unique sense of style whilst being kind to our planet. 70% of all fabrics used in the collection have been repurposed or reused such as recycled bottles.
The highlights in this collection include translucent knitted trousers and shirts, suit vests and jumpers. The colour palette includes beautiful jewel and berry tones, such as burgundy and greens which create lovely contrasting details within the knitwear. The collection showcases both women’s and menswear, in collaboration with designer Wei Yao Lin. The pieces feature light fabrics, and short sleeves making them extremely versatile and great for summer wear, along with making them ideal for layering.
We wanted to know a little more about the brand, designer and collection- so we spoke to Yi-Ling to see what she had to tell us about her thought process at 1×1 studio, and more details about the collection.
Can you talk more about the message behind this collection? Why does the act of commitment inspire you?
The SS21 inspiration actually comes from my time with family, during pandemics, many people lose their life and family members, I remind myself and people cherished anytime with their family/friends/partner. I am much more me when I’m with you(Family), I realized that I used to spend most of time on work and travel, Now, I make a commitment to my family that something will be changed.
What visually inspired your collection?
I start looking back to the pictures my family took when we were together, such as when we went on holiday, celebration of a family member’s birthday or family party. Those memories inspire me a lot!
Can you explain your sustainable practices a bit more? Why this is important to you?
Before we make the clothing, we always start from knitting ourselves the textiles, 1×1 studio reused resources such as recycled bottles, recycled paper and eco cotton fibers to create the fabric first. We keep searching and meet suppliers who work together with the same sustainable principle with us.
I love fashion but I also love enjoying our nature/environment, the most important for me is to keep the world as enjoyable as we have to our next generation.
what is something you hope people get from this collection?
During a pandemic, people have more time to spend with their loved one, wearing my collection at home might make them look a bit better and enjoy the time together more. In 2020, bad news is much more than good news. but I hope this collection will remind people of positive thinking, brighter signs and cherish the surroundings. When next spring summer time comes in 2021, good things and our dream shall become true.
Can you talk about your processes? such as knitting by hand?
My process always starts from being free of creative and experimental ideas, such as playing around the different materials and techniques, following my inspiration board and mood board to create the visual and textiles of story-telling. Regarding handcrafting knitting, we have a couple of knitting machines which handle all the steps by hand, not the electrical one, we start knitting small samples on this machine to get the measurement and technical sheet before finalizing the final garments.
What can we expect to see from you in future?
1×1 Studio will try to bring the innovation at its best providing fresh ideas and works, that maybe people haven’t thought about it before, it can be a movie show in the theater, audience can enjoy straight from eyes, it can also be one you enjoy watching on your sofa over weekend…, there are so many exciting shows we would like to create and share with our audience, after the commitment collection, we will continues bring everyone into the future journey with any uncertainty, to explore, to remind, to hope take different topics to taking more care about our surrounding.
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