2019

SHAN HE “RECONSTRUCTIONS”

Graduating in 2016 from London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London’s MA Fashion Artefact, Shan He debuted with the collection “Reconstructions”, which merges principles of fashion and accessory design, exploring correlations between different materials, such as leather, fabric and metal. 
Departing from the association of the basic function of the handbag and the pocket, Shan created a true hybrid between a garment and an accessory. 
A garment, or rather a gentleman’s suit, shirt, vest and trousers are rendered in the form of their basic outline, brought back to a state which shows their inner structure, and this “skeleton” is “drawn” with the fine golden metal frame. 
The “construction” of the garment is presented here as a jewel, an element of an adornment. And what would be the accessory, in this case a handbag, is actually a piece of clothing, a piece of fabric left where usually a pocket is placed in the custom-made suit. 
Shan He starts by deconstructing, unmaking, and returning to the basics, then reconstructs, merging elements that belong to two different formal and functional vocabularies. In this sense, it is truly a trans-disciplinary and “transfashional” approach, but it remains faithful to the fundamental instance of fashion, to be wearable and usable. So it doesn’t work only with instances of deconstruction, which were a principal guideline for the architecture of the postmodern period and its legacies in art, design, fashion, and other disciplines. It brings back in focus the idea of contracting, reconstructing, remaking, putting together fragments which create a new entity, which is not purely conceptual but also concrete. 

Shan He studied accessory design at Nottingham Trent University and graduated from the MA Fashion Artefact programme at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, in 2016. In 2018, she launched her accessory brand “Triple Tipsy” in Shanghai.