Night Terrors

technical description

Blue, yellow, and white jacquard turtleneck sweater with wide shoulders and narrow waist, layered over a white high-density cotton shirt. Red and yellow short cargo pants, constructed using knitted patchwork techniques and handcrafted weaving. Leather gloves. Knitted socks layered with black leg warmers. Brown cowboy boots.

concept

Since childhood, designer Wenji Wu’s sleeping dreams have been inhabited by terrifying monsters wreaking havoc in his imaginary world. Fortunately there is also an armoured terracotta king who protects him like a guardian angel. In recent years he has painted his nightmare visions to try and understand their significance. This is reminiscent of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Karl Jung’s redaction of his “Liber Novus” where he depicted and confronted his own subconscious. Jung’s research suggests that understanding our dreams is a question of balance: the monsters may be repressed facets of our personality which manifest in sleep rather than integrating in our waking persona. Wenji’s collection brings them to the garments, exploring the duality between the monsters and the armoured terracotta knight - beautifully rendered through knitwear - to balance out the two forces.

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