“Darkness is not just a mood. It’s a language I use to tell the truth.”
We cannot stop thinking about the KABK fashion show that recently came and went, but not without taking us by storm. KABK proves yet again to be a hotspot for up-and-coming designers, with names that emit a particular glimmer. One of them is Zhenyi Zhou. Her graduation project tickles the soft white underbelly of emotions that we feverishly try to conceal and instead, drags them into the limelight. She configures 3D printing, leather, and fur into elaborate exoskeletons protruding from the body, and beneath, leathery skin suits. Some looks take shape in the semblance of H.R. Giger‘s nightmarish xenomorphs. Others blend insect antennae, thorax, and femurs into haunted silhouettes – Terra Formars in the flesh.
Raw, jagged, and dark, Zhenyi’s project acts as an exhortation on how to deal with the darkness ever lurking within us. Not tucked away, but worn on our sleeves in a powerful proclamation of spiritual commitment. Come, closer even, and feast your eyes as you indulge in the inner workings of Zhenyi’s collection, detailing inspirations drawn from Chinese folktales, insects, and pain as a source of power, delicately woven (and 3D printed) into the fabrics of her collection.
Super nice to meet you! How are you feeling after Friday’s fashion show?
Wow, tired, exhausted. But it went very well, I’m very glad that it went the way it did.
I would love for you to walk me through the story of your collection. What is it about, and what were the main inspirations?
It’s a story about the darkness I experienced in recent years. And how pain, after it breaks you, leaves behind something heavy and powerful. To portray this, I used the Gu Witch from Chinese folklore to tell this story. She’s a woman connected to poisons and parasitic insects, and represents transformation through suffering. However, to me, she’s more than that. She’s a symbol of what happens after pain. When the wound doesn’t heal, but becomes a part of you. So it’s a collection about pain, transformation, and how wounds can be powerful.
Tell us more about this Gu spirit.
Traditionally, it involves a kind of sorcery, where people put several poisonous creatures like snakes, spiders, and scorpions into a container and have them fight against each other. The last one that survives then transforms into a toxic energy. But for me, this is not about the poison in a literal sense. I see the poison as a metaphor for my pain, for emotions, like fear, energy, grief, guilt, and desire – the fight inside me. When something survives, it’s not clean and healed. It’s dark, but it’s strong. So that is the Gu spirit. She’s the result of an inner process. It’s a pain that transforms into something living, haunting, and powerful.
Were there any paranormal or spiritual experiences you have had that you think seeped into your work?
While I did have some spiritual experiences, I didn’t have one specific experience in mind. I’m a very emotional person and feel a lot of things in general, and when creating, I already sink into this state. So I kind of already feel a form of spirituality in my everyday life, even if I didn’t realise it in the beginning. I went through a period of emotional darkness in these past years, a flow of confusion, grief, and loss. I didn’t turn to religion, but I did start thinking about the unseen forces, energy, and pain that don’t have language. That’s when I became interested in folklore, especially the Gu witch. She became a kind of mirror for me. A way I understand how pain can live inside the body and how it can be transformed into something powerful. In the collection, I used masks and symbols reflecting my emotional survival.
And how does the darkness you describe inform your work?
Darkness is a starting point for my work. My previous creation has been more about the love of life. But in recent years, I started to realise that darkness is also another side of me. While I didn’t show it at all before, I really wanted it to come through now. It’s not necessarily negative; it’s more about the powerful side of me. Both emotionally and visually. For me, the darkness isn’t about horror or shock. It’s about what people don’t talk about, like pain, decay, fear, shame, and transformation. These are things I feel deeply. Instead of hiding them, I want to turn them into something visible. I think there’s a strange beauty in the darkness. It’s not soft, but it’s honest. My collection embodies that through materials like 3D-printed bones and fur. And through shapes that feel haunted or wanted. Darkness is not just a mood. It’s a language I use to tell the truth.
What inspired you to include the 3D elements in our collection?
3D printing is very important in my collection. I use 3D printed bones and the structure to make the body feel haunted or even broken, like something growing under the skin. It’s a way to build what doesn’t exist in real life. Something between organic and digital, between the human and the parasite. I also like how it allowed me to create forms that feel unnatural but deeply emotional. It wasn’t just about the more constructive parts of it. It was to express the pain, mutation, and spiritual infection.
I can definitely see that; it does feel skeletal in a way. Someone in the midst of morphing into something else. What was the process like making this collection – did you face any challenges or anything unexpected?
I did meet a lot of challenges. The most challenging part was turning my 3D world into a real garment. I started by building everything digitally. Shape, silhouette, concept. I had to rethink and re-engineer a lot. On top of that, I chose complex materials like latex and real leather, which are hard to control. It was a double challenge in a way, both construction and material handling. But I think struggling was part of the process. Bringing something unreal into the physical world.
I can tell you took great care in selecting the type of material as well.
Were there any thoughts on the meaning behind the fabric itself?
In this collection, I used a lot of leather and real fur, which I collected from secondhand markets. The animals had already suffered, died for their coats, and were then left to be discarded in the market. I saw the beauty of death there, and I thought maybe I could create something around it. Emotionally, it’s like a rebirth of spiritual energies.
Are there any specific colours you gravitated towards in this collection, and what was the underlying message with these colours?
Generally, I used a lot of colour, but the main one is black. It expresses emotion – I’m thinking about the colour of my 5th look. It’s not dark, it’s like a black and white combination, because I wanted to create a kind of insect colour, which attracted me.
Do you have a favorite look from your collection?
I think the 4th is the most emotionally intense piece for me. I designed it to be worn in a submissive, almost BDSM-like manner. The idea was to show a body that’s controlled, exposed, and emotionally restrained. One of the key elements is a large 3D printed phallus representing force, domination, and symbolic violence. It’s not about sexuality, but about power. The body becomes an object, a surface to control. I also used the second-hand fur in this look.
How was your experience at the KABK?
My time at KABK helped me develop a clear design language and visual identity. Through this process, I realised what kind of aesthetic I want to build towards and what audience I want to appeal to.
Where do you feel like you want to take your creative journey next?
In the future, I’m planning to continue refining my skills, as well as work in the fashion industry, and eventually start my own brand. It will be rooted in an experimental spirit I acquired during my studies, but translated into a more ready-to-wear direction. I want to create clothing that is emotionally strong, visually striking, and wearable for people who connect to this kind of language.
If you only had to pick three words to assign to your collection, what would these words be?
Suffering, transformation, and rebirth.
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