Cultural Revolution

YUEQI QI's works take on myriad forms. But above all, they love letter to her Chinese heritage.

- VALECIA LEE

They say home is where the heart is-and there's no one that expresses this heartfelt ethos better than Chinese designer Yueqi Qi. Born and raised in Guangdong, Qi's subversive creations are rife with references to her Chinese heritage and folklore motifs.

I was about seven years old when I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer. I must have seen something about fashion design on television but I remember being in a park in Guangzhou and telling my mother that this was my dream, she says. Immersing herself in creative endeavours like painting and handicraft since young, one of Qi's defining moments as a designer was being accepted into Central Saint Martins.

After graduating in 2018, Qi honed her design skills as an embroidery designer at Chanel, and created textiles for fashion houses like Balenciaga and Givenchy. A year later, she returned to Guangzhou to launch her eponymous label. Since then, her rise in the fashion sphere has been meteoric, with iconoclasts like Björk and FKA Twigs, to K-pop stars like Blackpink's Lisa and NewJeans sporting her designs.

It's no surprise that Qi's work resonates with musicians and creatives far and wide. Set against a richly saturated palette, her recent collections have featured the interplay of leather and metal rivets, Americana-style denim workwear and deconstructed pieces emblazoned with eclectic motifs.