Embracing Ray Chu

For his London Fashion Week SS24 presentation, Ray Chu took us the short distance from last season's venue in bohemian Bloomsbury to Yeomanry Hall, a quite gorgeous event space on the northern fringes of this iconic central London neighbourhood.

While it may have been a short distance geographically creatively, Ray Chu's latest collection showed a designer who is constantly evolving while continuing to infuse all he creates with ethical intentionality.

Entitled "Embracing the Ocean with Courage", it invited us to imagine an oceanic vista and the Manta Ray, a highly intelligent and highly threatened denizen of our tropical and sub-tropical waters. While the Manta Ray has been given the unfortunate nickname of "devil fish", as always with Ray Chu, the devil is in the detail. Channelling the tropical coastlines which abut the creature's home, the collection featured a palette of soft blues and sandy whites interspersed with hints of ocean green and fiery red. Always the innovator, the designer also employed inventive 3D printing technology to recreate the skeletal structure of the Manta Ray on a number of the garments. It was a collection that was in many respects signature Ray Chu, punk-infused, sexy and sassy, and all the better for it. This season, however, also saw the appearance of edgily elegant floor-length skirts, which added a new and exciting dimension to the designer's creative portfolio.

All Images by Nona Duch

The environmental empathy which lies at the core of the Ray Chu DNA continued to be evidenced, with 80% of this season's fabrics consisting of natural materials. Utilizing the latest biodegradable polyester fibers, the collection's concept and garment construction were aquatically aligned through a collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturers, which saw him use fish-scale textures to create some of those fabrics.

This was not the only collaboration to influence SS24, with the designer also partnering with Taiwanese skincare brand "Menomena" whose goal is to provide everyone with a healthy, vegan, non-toxic skincare routine, a philosophy which very much chimes with his own values.

Additionally, he is also collaborating with Velo, a brand intent on injecting a fashion aesthetic into the process of designing cycling accessories, allied with the aim of making it a more spiritual form of exercise. It's a demonstration of the designer's holistic approach to his art and a vision where fashion, the environment and well-being intersect to encourage a better way to live our lives.

As he told us, "Ray Chu has consistently merged creativity with responsibility. This collection pays homage to nature and resonates with the spirit of bravery. Through our designs, we aim to inspire awareness towards environmental concerns, encouraging us all to be better stewards of the Earth."

That's a mantra we can all endorse, and Ray Chu is a designer who's equally worthy of our endorsement.

Many thanks to Roxanne and the team at Dyelog for inviting us to the presentation.

You can connect with the brand here https://raychustudios.com/ and on IG https://www.instagram.com/raychustudios/