Fabric Porn, the Chinese fashion label showing ‘the real China’ to the West that’s turning heads
- Fashion designer Zhao Chenxi, Fabric Porn’s 25-year-old founder, mixes his Western influences with Chinese cultural symbols and a Confucian approach
- His new collection is full of Eastern and Western social commentary, referencing Kobe Bryant, George Floyd and South Korea’s ‘my life is not your porn’ movement
Zhao Chenxi wants to get people talking about the real China. The 25-year-old fashion designer, an avid hip-hop fan with a passion for cultural icons like Marcel Duchamp and Jean-Michel Basquiat, is the man behind Fabric Porn, a new unisex label that has been turning heads since its debut last year for bringing Chinese cultural symbols into the spotlight.
“I‘m trying to make Chinese people more confident in their culture,” he says. “We’re always learning things from different cultures, but I feel like a lot of people lost interest or purpose in their own culture.”
Fabric Porn, which was recently given a special mention at Lane Crawford’s Global Creative Call Out award, draws influence from Zhao’s six years living and studying in the US. The most stand-out garment: a red baseball cap that reads “Make China Lit Again”, a tongue-in-cheek nod to US President Donald Trump’s trademark campaign hats.
“Donald Trump has a lot of energy, so I just wanted to respond with energy,” Zhao says. “Most people find it funny. One or two people didn’t really appreciate it.”
The hat has caught the attention of people as far away as Italy, France and Mexico. “They are willing to pay US$50 for shipping to Mexico,” Zhao says. “I was really happy.”
