Oscar Ouyang SS26: Ridiculously Promising!
View Oscar Ouyang's SS26 collection here
I was inclined to call Oscar Ouyang's collection a Loewe dupe at first, as I don't think this statement is far-fetched after all. A sweater made from the roughest tweed, paired with an explosion of hays on the bag, comically structured t-shirts resembling Jonathan Anderson's Pixelated work, but more importantly, a subtle piss-take at fashion, as nothing is ever that serious for you not to have fun, or for it always to need to make sense. But it’s the same old trap; it's almost impossible for us not to compare when we are looking at new talents on the scene. We want to, because it makes things easier for us, and we want a starting point.
Like what I did initially, if I hooked Ouyang's work onto the vicinity of Anderson's work, then everything will make sense within that parameter. Every subsequent assessment of Ouyang’s work, at least partly, will then be under the shadow of Jonathan Anderson’s limit. Ouyang's work, however, isn't actually that close to Anderson's if we take a closer look. Ouyang doesn't seem to be creating with the same intention as Anderson, who wanted to relate his clothes to art installations and miscellaneous sculptures. Oscar Ouyang's collection might actually be closer to Chitose Abe's than Anderson's, despite the few similarities I pointed out. The clash of patterns reminds me of Sacai, and the overall silhouettes showcased what Japanese designers stereotypically go for. That shade of green and that damn jacket in Look 1! What enticed me to write this review is to point out what I find promising in this collection. We saw that Ouyang was not led by rules, and they can have fun. Not the kind of gimmicky fun that AVAVAV shows, though. Ouyang's SS26 collection is whimsical and light, perhaps the feather is part of this signifier, or the muted color palettes. Are they all birds personified? Every piece and styling point towards a summer not too hot, cool enough to wear a trench but has to leave it open, breezy enough for you to wear a t-shirt as thick as turf and as oversized as American Football jerseys. A sweater over a flannel? In this heat? At this rate of Global Warming? Clearly, Oscar Ouyang isn't entirely set on a Summer wardrobe, perhaps catering to an audience with cool summer nights. The lack of constructive cohesion made the collection seem nonsensical, but if you look closer, the seemingly disjointed collection is linked by a uniform color scheme, and a thorough sense of unexpectedness made this Ouyang collection, actually, quite memorable. At least it's not another 'light fabric, minimalist and high chic' BS that I am growing sick of. While there are demerits, like the pants, and possibly the pants only, oh they are so flat, Ouyang’s team excelled at styling, they are very mindful about the visual weight of each look, no ensemble was obviously ‘heavier’ or ‘more crowded’ than the rest, and certainly didn’t exceed the visual limit of what a summery look ‘should be.’ This is vital to me. In a Spring/Summer collection, the last thing you want, regardless of whether you designed a puffer jacket, is for the overall look to yell ‘I am cold,’ and the fastest way to do it is to have the overall image of the look, worse, the collection, look heavy. Even though I poked fun at their contrasting choice of fabrics and clothing types, the collection remains visually breezy. On top, signalled by the feathers and scattered papers on the floor, which, once again, nonsensically resemble snow, it’s cool, it’s light, it’s perhaps the start of Spring instead of the height of Summer.
As a side note, I want to reemphasize the importance of not being caught up in spotting the wow factor or how the whole collection needs to tick every box for you to care about a new designer’s work. Instead, we need to look at what we can see that promises a good future trajectory. There are obviously no guides I can write out, as they differ between designers and, most importantly, between you and me. Factors that are important to me are not necessarily essential to you. In Louther's case (I love bringing this up), a brand I discovered a few months ago and had the opportunity to witness in person, Olympia Schiele displayed a depth of vision. The collection was serious with a hint of naughtiness, something The Ocean's Eleven would wear if there were ever a reboot. Each look had its own distinct character, with little overlap. I guess that's a good thing about a smaller collection is that there isn't room for anything to be repeated. Of course, there are faults; perhaps it was pattern-cutting, or perhaps it was the models, the clothes didn't look the best draped onto the bodies. While the garments themselves remind me of rich playboys who steal art for fun, the walk down the runway didn't look as good as when it's shown in photos. Pattern cutting can be taught; vision cannot be taught. Skills can be mastered, but the innate ability to know what to show and what to omit can hardly be learnt. Louther presented a solid collection, where the next look riffed off the previous one; it was cohesive, strong, and, as I said, demonstrated a depth of vision.
Ouyang’s collection showed a sense of controlled ridiculousness that I think the Fashion world can use more of. Even when I criticize the pants, it’s quite irrelevant in the grand scheme. Some of these ‘ridiculousness’ presented in other brands rely heavily on the synergy of presentation and clothes, and often a boring parody of themselves, which at times feel forced. This collection is enough to throw you off, weird enough to make you look the other way and write it off immediately, but captivating to the point where you’ll start to realize that the creative choices are quite well made. This is a promise of talent, a promise of taste.
Whether buyers can see the potential is one thing, but to ignore what Ouyang can possibly do is something I wish you wouldn’t be unfortunate enough to do.