A.A. SPECTRUM FW26
There's an old Chinese saying about strangers who become friends faster than those who've known each other since childhood. Sometimes the deepest recognition happens in an instant. Two carriages meet on a narrow road. One lowers its canopy, a gesture of respect, an acknowledgment. That moment may last only seconds, yet it carries more truth than decades of familiarity.
In 1990s China, an entire generation experienced that lowered canopy. Romanticism collided with bold individualism. Ancient tradition found itself face to face with global youth expression. These forces did not blend or dissolve into each other. They stood close, acknowledged one another, then moved forward forever changed. This collection draws from that era, contradictory and impossibly alive. The brand returned to the archives: school tracksuits in faded blues, oversized winter puffers, nylon shells with unexpected details. These garments carried the friction of their time. They wore restraint and rebellion in equal measure. They spoke of identity forged in tension.
The reinterpretation avoids reverence that calcifies into pastiche. Silhouettes evolved. Fabrics shifted into contemporary territory. Surface treatments arrived subtle, earned. This feels like respectful evolution, not costume drama or borrowed aesthetics. What made the 1990s so vital in China was precisely that refusal to resolve. Western influence arrived, strong and loud. Chinese sensibility held its ground. Youth culture demanded expression. Tradition offered structure. None of these forces surrendered. They coexisted in beautiful friction.
Words by DONALD GJOKA
