Scorching heat intertwines with freezing winds, while rippling waves echo through narrow alleys, splashing against the shore. Identities fracture—torn, indecisive, yearning for what feels real.

Drawing from the spirit of evocative cinematic storytelling, the melancholic imagery, the mysterious beauty of the Summer Palace, and the ghostly duality of the Suzhou River, Louis Shengtao Chen’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection unfurls like a whispered film, filled with quiet, fleeting moments. Between longing and belonging, strength and vulnerability, a symphony plays out in cacophony, a minor tone, a missing note, a souring soul.

The woman Louis envisions for this season is a canary, beautiful yet trapped in a reality of her own making. As the mist recedes with the light, it reveals not freedom, but a beautiful cage—perfect, but ultimately illusory. It is a performance, without a final act, a struggle between the desire for freedom and the comfort of confinement. As she navigates this paradox, her beauty deepens, her vulnerability shines through.

At its heart, this collection captures the tension of growing up, of confronting the world while holding onto tenderness and innocence. The canary hides in the fog, torn between protection and the yearning to soar free. Even as the mist begins to clear, she remains suspended in her struggle, wrapped in beauty yet longing for more—an ongoing quest for freedom and identity, a timeless reflection of a woman’s inner world.