RUIRUI DENG AW23
CRIMSON
Paris, 26-02-2023
For this AW23 collection, Ruirui Deng has drawn inspiration from the 1969 Soviet Armenian art film, “The Colour of Pomegranates”, written and directed by Sergei Parajanov, which portrays the life of 18th century Armenian poet and troubadour, Sayat-Nova.
The vibrant hues and idiosyncratic performance styles in the film served as a source of inspiration for the material choices this season. Parajanov’s film celebrates the resilience of Armenian culture in the face of oppression and persecution, and according to film critic Frank Williams, “highly charged” specific images from the movie include “blood-red juice spilling from a cut pomegranate into a cloth”, that inspired the colours of this collection. The film’s director, Parajanov stated that he wanted to create an inner dynamic that emanates from the picture, the forms, and the dramaturgy of colour. This collection features Ruirui Deng’s signature mermaid lace, which was dyed scarlet and paired with a strong silhouette to evoke the romantic flow of poetry.
Ruirui Deng is a London-based fashion designer who founded in 2021 her eponymous brand, RUIRUI DENG, based on the mythology of alien mermaids arriving on Earth to explore art and life.
Her unique perspective on life stems from her interest in complex and imaginative paintings with impressive surrealism, which inspired her future-oriented fashion brand. After three years of honing her voice and mastering the fundamentals of the craft at the China Academy of Art, Rui secured a spot in the BA Fashion Womenswear course at Central Saint Martins University in 2015. Her brand is grounded in her deep intrigue about alien mermaids inhabiting Earth and reflects the confusion expressed by the mermaids when interpreting the human world, which she sees as a reflection of the expression in Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings.
Photo credit: Olivia Ghalioungui