Today, Dawei’s blend of youthful Chinese street sensibility and effortless, French chic has struck a chord with fans across cultures. “My Chinese/Eastern heritage influences my point of view in a certain way,” he explains, “whilst the French elegance that I learned throughout my career is expressed intuitively in my work. I don't want to force it, otherwise it looks awkward. My work is way more natural and effortless.”
The self-confessed architecture buff and introvert lives between Beijing and Paris, and says he is “one of those people who stays at home or in the office a lot, so these strolls around are really important for me to think.” Both Beijing’s “fast paced energy” and Paris’s “slow, contemplative pace” fuels creativity; he also loves how both cities are rich in history and culture.
The Dawei womenswear aesthetic is elegant, street-infused fashion that, for AW18, was also tinged with elements from aristocratic wardrobes of 19th-Century Paris. Zip-up cape jackets in oversized proportions are cinched at the waist while cool-kid utility pockets counterbalance Baudelaire’s more romantic notions. Dawei gives his fashion a contemporary treatment with sporty fabrics, volume, modern stripes, and punchy bolts of futuristic silver.
