Last weekend's inaugural London Collections: Menswear marked the debut of young Beijing-based designer Xander Zhou on the European catwalks.
'I wanted to create a synergy between designers in London and China,' explains Grant Pearce, the editorial director of GQ Asia-Pacific, who invited Zhou to participate. 'Xander stood out for me, as he has an understanding of the international market and a respect for his own.'
Zhou, 29, who has a growing private client business in Beijing, admitted this show was an experiment for him, as he had never shown in a European city before. 'They offer more opportunities for young designers to show in London, and it is edgier here,' he says.
Presenting his spring-summer 2013 collection alongside Savile Row luminaries such as Richard James and Spencer Hart, and a new generation of designers such as Jonathan Saunders and J.W. Anderson is part of the appeal for Zhou. 'Anything could happen in London,' he adds.
The fact that this is also his first visit to the Britain adds to the occasion for him.
On the catwalk, his collection proved to be as experimental as his visit. The emphasis was on sportswear, inspired by Boy Scouts with the shorts and triangular neckerchiefs, which influenced the shape of collars on oversized jackets and duster coats constructed in hi-tech silks. There were bold graphic patterns on roomy vests, gilets and shorts worked in a monochrome palette with shocks of lilac and red, but his most stylish pieces were in the softly tailored suiting.
If the audience were expecting some reference to his heritage, they weren't going to get it. Zhou is not that kind of designer. He is very dismissive of those who might drum up images of peonies and dragons for the European market. 'I think Europeans have a very strange view of Asian people. What they see is really in their imagination; it is not the real culture of China or Asian countries.' He believes designers shouldn't have a nationality: 'Design is an international thing. It is much more about individual expression than about nationalism.'