Shiatzy Chen SS26
An unceasing force gallops across the wilderness like a horse, raising dust and wind, its momentum both wild and deliberate. This vivid image set the tone for Shiatzy Chen’s SS26 collection, unveiled at Paris Fashion Week on October 6. The horse, a symbol of speed, freedom, and vitality, galloped through every seam and silhouette, transforming the traditional saying, “the horse unstill” into an ode to perpetual motion, inner drive, and the harmony of grace and power.
Wendy Chen, the label’s artistic director, has always been a storyteller in silk, but this season she loosened the reins to embrace a kind of Eastern hippie spirit. Inspired by the liberated visual poetry of the 1970s, the collection ventured beyond nostalgia to reimagine rebellion through a distinctly Taiwanese lens. Like smoke drifting through desert wind, a new softness erased boundaries between East and West, between earth and sky.
Decoding the runway was like watching an impromptu dance of fabrics and forms. Layers unfolded with multidirectional brilliance; flared pants with lace shirts, crochet knits paired with tailored vests, tassels brushing against denim, all styled with a nonchalant mix of discipline and disorder. Women’s looks fused poetic languor with confident sensuality. Long-on-long silhouettes swayed with motion, while men’s ensembles embraced mesh tops, jodhpur shorts, and relaxed suits cut with a romantic looseness. The palette embodied duality; tobacco brown, coffee, fuchsia, cobalt, and verbena blue-violet. Colors pulling between sun drenched wanderlust and nocturnal disco. Every piece shimmered with the tension of opposites; the restraint of hand stitched craftsmanship against the exuberance of fabric in flight. Chiffon, lace, and cotton linen prints moved like breathing material, balancing femininity and ferocity in perfect cadence.
In true Shiatzy Chen form, the artistry of the hand was paramount. Cross stitching, ribbon embroidery, and saddle curve pocket structures were not just decorative, they were meditations on continuity. In an age of rapid consumption, these quiet techniques reminded us of the rhythm of making and the reverence of touch.
Shiatzy Chen’s “Unstill” collection feels like a meditation on momentum itself; wildness within serenity, fire within poetry. It reclaims the rebellion of the ’70s hippie while preserving the brand’s signature romanticism. In a world craving authenticity, Chen reminds us that freedom isn’t chaos, it’s consciousness in motion. Choose the ride, not the race. Live with eyes open, hearts unstill, and closets that tell our stories with integrity.
