Runway Roundup: Hsiang Ju Kung

Remember the soap Dallas? Ever been in a hospital? Put the two together, and you get Hsiang Ju Kung’s master’s collection for LCF ’09.

Strong shoulders and lots of clinical white (white jackets, white skinny-leg trousers, white skirts, white tights, white shoes) formed the basis of Hsiang’s women’s wear looks. Sound boring? Not so much, when you factor in the student’s obsession with plastic-y feathers, spilling down sleeves and swinging from jackets and ruffling across dress hems.

Just when you think she’s gone soft with all those “feathers”, the designer brings in a tough-edge surprise. It’s funny how well a white blazer, padded to look as though it has an exoskeleton, fits in with something a little frou-frou.

Hsiang should get ready to pack up those boleros and halter dresses: The directions a stylist at an indie fashion mag could take with her are endless.