Back to the Future: Welcome to Uma Wang’s Retro-Cosmo-Futurist World

Uma Wang's designs have consistently evoked the images of female warriors, priestesses, or other heroines from science fiction films set in distant galaxies with a pseudo-historical past and future. Her aesthetic aligns seamlessly with the voluminous silhouettes, intricate draping, and, naturally, her extraordinary fabrics, which are exclusively custom-made for her.

This time, the inherent ornateness of Uma Wang was tempered by a carefully curated palette, as nearly the entire collection was crafted in just four main hues: black, greyish beige, eggshell, and berry-red. There were no patterns, only textures wWs – vinyl, crinkled surfaces, and garments adorned with torn fringe. While the most extravagant feature of the previous Autumn-Winter 2024 collection was the incorporation of pillows into gowns, this time, the standout element was the frills – layers and rows of frills formed entire dresses or were sewn vertically like stripes on trousers. As always, we witnessed masterful tailoring, with draped blouses that transformed into jackets or jackets with one shoulder and one sleeve (while many this season were captivated by one-legged pants). There was hardly a single completely symmetrical look. Yet, alongside all this emphasised strangeness and complexity of forms, which are far from any trends and convincingly unique, there is also a certain idea that these forms are intended to express.

In our conversation after her show in March, Uma Wang mentioned that each look embodies two different personas, one very strong and another very fragile. In today's world, people cannot be sure of anything, and women want to both conceal and reveal themselves. This desire was evident in her latest collection, as well. High-necked, long-sleeved blouses featured completely bare backs, while slim-waisted long black dresses had cutouts on one side, adorned with red silk flounces. Jackets were worn backwards and embellished with ruffles on the back. Overall, the metaphor of two-faced women was vividly portrayed in garments that appeared to be composed of two distinct parts. All of the models had very distinctive types, particularly the older ones, who walked the catwalk with focused and stern expressions, embodying both strength and fragility, just as Wang described.

Uma Wang is one of those fashion designers who have crafted their own distinct world, aesthetically complete, and maintain its essence from season to season, only evolving and refining it around a consistent theme. This world operates like a saga, with plots that multiply but stay within a shared space. This blend of strangeness and beauty, simplicity and complexity, minimalism and eccentricity, futurism and historicism forms the common thread that holds this world together and captivates Uma Wang’s fans all around the globe.

Text: Elena Stafyeva