What’s in a color? One could ask. “Anxiety,” fashion designer Carla Zhang responds.
Time and again, when the clouded mind topples, art comes in as a source of direction, connection, and inspiration. In the translation of one’s works from the artist to the spectator, the pieces carry conversations that can say these words, “You are not alone. I am here for you.” That’s exactly what Le Ngok, through the craftsmanship of designer Carla Zhang, echoes in her pieces for the collection entitled There’s Nothing Wrong at the Bench Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024.
Related: Let Le Ngok’s Carla Zhang Introduce You To The Fashion Concept of Mixed Media Wear
In an exclusive with MEGA, the designer addressed her intention for her creating the pieces right away. “I wanted to make a collection that tells a story. When I design, it’s either I want to find meaning or tell a story. With [There’s Nothing Wrong,] I want to tell my own story of how I started having anxiety, to know it, and be friends with it,” she says.
Matters of the mind
The exhibition began with a lone dancer donning a black and white ensemble that had mimicked an abstract inkblot design—familiar to those who knew psychotherapy. Running confused as if looking for answers, her presence would stay in every piece that would follow suit.
As each model made their way to the audience, their unsettling presence came in designs that interpreted individual feelings of confusion, loneliness, and worry. Zhang did not describe her works on mere fabrics or techniques alone. She used her own scenarios of understanding anxiety. A bloated stomach, a loop of asking what’s wrong every day, and insomnia.
Then came the addressing through consultations and medications. The two pieces inspired by this stage were more straightforward, with the usage of pills in transparent bubbles and Carla’s own test results printed on the fabric. This also included the headpiece, a recycled creation from the pills’ empty bottles. “When I was taking so much medicine at that time, I kept the bottles and I said, ‘One day, I will use you!’” she recalls.
Minding what matters
“I’m in a dark place right now”—These are the words that people usually use when they describe their state of being unwell. But the concept of darkness, for Carla, is not just about darker shades and harsh strokes. “I don’t think if you’re depressed, you’re totally in the dark. There is darkness, but there is also something colorful which gives me another feeling than depression. So if depression to other people is dark, maybe to me it’s dark—but mixed with other colors,” the designer expresses.
One could perceive this in Zhang’s designs that had a black base with embellishments of zippers and pins, as well as traces and streaks of color. Going into her technique, she demonstrated her technical skills as a designer in the variations of her stitches as well as the hemline finishes, the lettuce style appearing in a number of her pieces.
Mind over matter
“I don’t know [where the end is],” the designer admits, referring to her anxiety. “Though I know I’m getting better, I also don’t know when it will go bad again. I’m much better now compared to two years ago, and what’s important is that I get the opportunity to present to everyone. That’s a huge achievement for myself [that I get to openly talk about it.]”
When Carla’s experiences reached her friends, she finally found out that she wasn’t alone in her journey to making sense of anxiety, depression, and mental health. “That’s also one of the reasons why I wanna design this collection, to tell that people have experienced it, or are experiencing it [that] they’re not alone,” she says.
Ending the interview with more than her designs as a reminder of support, Carla Zhang shares, “I think there’s an important step for people who are going through the anxiety disorder. It’s really to face it, and openly face it. Talk to people who care about you. Openly talking about it with people who care about you.”
Photography EXCEL PANLAQUE of KLIQ INC.
