Wen Hanzhang
“MY FOCUS IS ON HOW WE CAN SPEAK FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN FASHION THROUGH DURABLE MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTING WITH TECHNIQUES SUCH AS LOW WASTE AND MODULAR DESIGN.”
– WEN HANZHANG
In the eyes of Wen Hanzhang, a mathematician turned fashion designer, the creation of garments can be seen as a systematic project of discovering shapes to reduce waste.
His Redress Design Award collection, ‘The Living Island’, imagines life on a future island. Marine life, island topography, and the practice of recycling inspire the designs.
“It all came from the concept of living on a future island where people can only use limited sources around them, such as wasted or preexisting material, used products, etc. to produce new things with their creativity,” says the designer, who is studying for his MA in Fashion Design – Womenswear from Istituto Marangoni Paris, from which he also holds a BA in Fashion Design, alongside a DEC diploma in Fashion Design from Collège LaSalle, Canada.
Using leftover fabrics and secondhand clothes sourced from a local thrift shop in the designer’s home of Montreal, the Chinese Canadian designer creates with monofibre materials to ensure his garments are recyclable. Their modular design also makes it simple for wearers to repair parts with new pieces, while detachable sleeves and legs offer versatility in styling options.
Hanzhang was inspired by tessellation to deal with the challenges of designing organic shapes that are feasible for cutting and sewing. He also integrates recycled duvets as filling that can work with irregular outer shells. He achieves low-waste cutting while combining organic and geometric shapes using patchwork, a signature element of his designs. The garments also feature pockets and zippers, offering functionality that can lead to longevity of use.
Hanzhang dreams of creating a community platform promoting humanity-driven designs. “Making garments will remain my passion and part of my profession. I will continue to create meaningful pieces with recycled material to convey messages about human collectivity.”
