KEH FORME is a young Chinese designer brand started in New York. The brand has enjoyed a rapid rise since being founded in late 2018, receiving praise from top international fashion media and winning awards at Shanghai Fashion Week SS2020.

Backstage at KEH FORME FW2020

After releasing its 2020 Fall/Winter collection in February 2020 in New York, the brand was identified by T Magazine as one of “Six Emerging Designers to Know This Fashion Month”. It also drew praise from WWD for its “standout presentation” at last season’s New York Fashion Week season thanks to its “modern blend of tailoring, cool experimentation and sophisticated silhouettes”.

 

 

"Our intention from the start has been to express an appreciation for aesthetics in our daily lives.”

 

On the back of well-deserved praise from the fashion media, KEH FORME came to Shanghai to partner with ROOMROOM, Ontimeshow’s in-house showroom. It is one of ROOMROOM's youngest brands and is the only brand run by two co-designers: Wei Ge and Aoyu Zhang.

KEH FORME Co-Designers Aoyu Zhang & Wei Ge ▲

Creating a designer brand that can express an original aesthetic point of view is the lifelong dream of many designers, and this holds true for Wei and Aoyu. As designers, they have had similar experiences: both have loved painting since their childhoods, and as undergraduates they both at the Academy of Arts and Design at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. Having been trained in the same discipline, they are able to communicate seamlessly.

Backstage at KEH FORME FW2020 ▲

After graduating from Tsinghua, Ge studied Fashion Design at Parsons and worked as an assistant designer at the Chinese brand Zuczug, while Zhang went on to receive an MBA from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The two merged their rich experiences in design, business, and entrepreneurship to create a new designer brand, where they found their different professional experiences to be highly complementary.

Backstage at KEH FORME FW2020 ▲

In 2017, fate brought the two together at none other than the opening of the Dover Street Market store in Singapore. They got talking in the queue, and fittingly, surrounded by an eclectic mix of the world’s top independent designer brands, the idea for their very own designer brand came to fruition. They wanted a means to express their life experiences of travelling and learning about the world, using aesthetic elements that they shared an appreciation for.

KEH FORME FW2020 ▲

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their plans to continue growing KEH FORME internationally. Faced with such circumstances, they decided to return to their roots in China to grow their brand at home.

 

 

"Understanding and expressing conflicting aesthetics through artistic tailoring is our core strength."

 

Drawing upon the work that Ge had already done in New York, KEH FORME established a unique deconstructionist design style. The brand proposes a modern interpretation of masculinity and femininity through an exploration of different elements within menswear and womenswear.

KEH FORME FW2020 ▲

KEH FORME draws inspiration from architecture, sculpture, painting, and art in a rational and poetic way to create unique fashion designs. Through sophisticated cutting techniques, experimental structures, distinctive silhouettes, high-quality fabrics and innovative uses of clothing technology, KEH FORME is able to create original and beautiful pieces.

KEH FORME FW2020 ▲

The Washington Post noted KEH FORME’s “skilful execution of roomy tailoring, his quiet use of color, and a well-edited point of view,” and described his theme as “menswear with just enough sensuality and experimentation to excite the senses.” Clearly others’ understanding of Ge’s strengths match his own; that of “expressing conflicting aesthetics through artistic tailoring”.

 

 

"Investigation of the charm of sex mixing and flower form"

 

For its Fall/Winter 2020 collection, KEH FORME was inspired by legendary fashion photographer Nick Knight’s photographs of roses from his exhibition "Florist". In Knight’s work, the fragile elegance of the flowers contrast with sharp lines, and serve as metaphors for each other. KEH FORME, through blurring gender traditions, using irregularly-shaped flowers and rich layering, seeks to re-interpret womenswear in a more modern way.

Photo: Nick Knight for SHOWstudio ▲

Nick Knight's photograph of roses from "Florist", the SHOWstudio exhibition in London.

The Fall/Winter 2020 collection revolves around two major themes: the charm of blurring gender and the exploration of floral patterns. KEH FORME uses the technique of deconstructing men's and women's clothing, blending wide shoulders and waist designs in the classic suits; using traditional trouser stitching in the folds of skirts; bright-colored shirts and wide-leg tweed trousers. The symmetrical cutting, linear divisions and layered structures echo the shapes of the flowers from Nick Knight's works.

KEH FORME FW2020 Sketches ▲

For anyone curious and passionate about culture and art, particularly young, urban people, this KEH FORME’s aesthetic feast is well worthy of attention.