As guests took their seats for the Shushu/Tong presentation during Shanghai Spring, they were greeted by a charming and deliberate token: a colorful umbrella resting on every chair. This playful accessory served as a direct nod to Jacques Demy’s 1964 whimsical cinematic classic, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The legendary French musical provided the foundational reference point for the collection, which designers Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang aptly titled Darling Melancholy.
The resulting runway presentation brought a distinct breath of French New Wave cool to the heart of Shanghai, expertly blended with other iconic stylistic pillars of the 1960s. Alongside the cinematic French references, the collection wove in the spirited energy of Mary Quant’s swinging London mod designs, the futuristic clean lines of Courrèges, and a sharp, modern dash of Miu Miu sensibility.
True to the brand’s signature aesthetic, the collection rolled down the runway with a flurry of short, unapologetically girly silhouettes, delicate petal-edged details, voluminous balloon skirts, and intricate macramé lace rendered in a delectable array of candy-colored combinations. To elevate the cheerful atmosphere even further, designers layered on a gentle drizzle of embellishments and charming beaded daisies that kept the overall mood strictly upbeat and radiant.
Everything in the lineup was exceedingly pretty, neatly proportioned, and disarmingly wearable, designed to transition effortlessly from runway concept to the wardrobes of fashion enthusiasts. The element of melancholy promised by the collection’s title, however, proved to be an entirely different matter. Whatever profound heartbreak was unfolding under the rain-slicked streets in Demy’s tragic-romantic film had clearly been handed a bright pink umbrella and told to cheer up.
Just when the saccharine sweetness of the presentation threatened to become overwhelming, a few clever sporty details jogged casually by to ground the looks. Yet, it was ultimately the accessories that had the final word on the runway. Each model clutched a ladylike, boxy handbag tucked neatly into the crook of her arm, carrying the structured pieces like sophisticated Pop Art toys that completed the retro-futuristic narrative.
Behind the conceptual framework of the collection are designers Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang, who have frequently spoken of their deep-seated childhood obsessions with Japanese anime. This distinct artistic sensibility has long hovered around the label’s foundational schoolgirl uniform codes and its embrace of a slightly unreal, hyper-stylized prettiness.
For this season, the designers explained, they decided to pass the definitive aesthetic codes of the 1960s "through an Asian lens." The result was a collection of clothes that possessed virtually no interest in bittersweet longing or genuine sorrow. While the melancholy may have proudly anchored itself in the title of the collection, it certainly was nowhere to be found in the fluttering, buoyant hems of the skirts.
The brand’s well-groomed front row, packed with industry insiders and loyal patrons, sized up all that meticulous cuteness with the laser-focused precision of Very Important Customers who were already mentally adding those pastel skirts to their virtual shopping carts before the final look had even cleared the runway.
