China-born designer Lulu Liu on dressing powerful women
Chengdu native tells Denise Marray about studying in Japan, taking inspiration from Tibetan monks, designing for the Royal Ballet and why she prefers playing with fabric on a mannequin to drawing designs on paper
Chengdu-born luxury womenswear designer Lulu Liu reveals why her clothes are not "too out there" and the role Tibet had in her London College of Fashion graduate collection.
"I'm targeting successful women aged between 35 and 55. They enjoy fashion and have control over their personal and professional lives. They want to wear something that has a design twist while keeping the look professional; they like to move between work meetings and socialising with friends and still look appropriate. My clients don't want to wear 'too out there' pieces. They wouldn't feel comfortable - they would feel like it was 'too much attention', especially if they are the boss or CEO of the company where the image they are projecting is important. So not too loud."
"I don't draw on paper so much - I prefer playing with fabric on a mannequin and visualising the reality of day-to-day movement. We move a lot, so I'm thinking, 'How will she look when she walks, when she sits down - when she leans on the table having a drink?' That's when the magic of fabric and silhouette comes into play. It's a marriage between the body and the garment.
"Sometimes clients say that while the clothes don't look that spectacular on the hanger, once they put them on they get a lot of compliments because the shapes, draping and fit are very flattering."