Li Gong has picked up working. He’s not alone; actually, he’s becoming a member of a complete generational cohort—that Millennial-to-Gen Z bridge of late 20- and early 30-somethings—that appears to have transformed to health for the reason that pandemic. A minimum of in keeping with the Web, that’s, with all of the working golf equipment and working influencers taking up this very stationary author’s feed.
A London Style Week mainstay since 2019, Gong introduced his assortment to Shanghai this season. He defined that he felt like coming residence to China to commemorate his eighth anniversary. As you could have caught on by now, the quantity 8, an ideal closed loop, is a little bit of a theme for this designer. Does that imply that he solely jogs in infinity-shaped routes?
It’s what his fashions did at his present; a few of them working round his 8-shaped runway and others merely showing like they did. This he achieved by both including horsehair to the underside of working shorts—which took them from bottom-drawer staples to hero wardrobe items—or by lining go well with jackets with swishy technical windbreakers and styling the tailor-made half open and draped over the shoulders. Elsewhere, Gong was equally intelligent with extra standardized wardrobe classics: button-downs obtained that very same hem remedy and different separates had been warmth pressed after which printed, making a cool crackled look.
That is the sort of futuristic technicality that Gong has grow to be recognized for in China, has it’s helped him construct a strong enterprise with an enviable portfolio of collaborations: Japanese Asics sneakers since 2020, Italian Canali tailoring in 2021, and even the all-American Hole, through a capsule assortment for the Asia-Pacific area in 2023. What actually defines 8on8, although, is a sort of eclectic retro-athleticism that’s equal elements nostalgic and forward-looking.
