So perhaps New York Fashion Week still matters. It’s here that you encounter talents like 25-year-old Zane Li, the founder of Lii. He has an extraordinary approach to shape and geometry, creating garments that feel constructivist in both appearance and method. Like Vladimir Tatlin’s abstract installations made from industrial materials, Li’s pieces demand to be viewed from every angle: a skirt may appear exaggeratedly flat from the front, only to protrude at the back with an almost extraterrestrial force.

Based in New York, the designer explores the potential of line and silhouette through precisely cut, flat fabrics rendered in bold color-blocking that delivers a punchy visual impact. It was compelling to see him introduce faux fur into the mix, adding texture to designs that might otherwise read as austerely sterile. And the utilitarian gloves? A nod to Todd Haynes’s “Safe“. We do live in a dangerous world.

What distinguishes Li’s work is his refusal to casually appropriate the term “minimalism,” as so many New York designers do. He understands the discipline the word implies – and claims it, convincingly, on his own terms.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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