Ziggy Chen

Ziggy Chen is a Shanghai-based fashion label founded by designer Chen Xiang. Its lineage begins with Shanghai Shiyi Co., Ltd. and the commercial label Decoster, followed by the more personal Decoster Concept project introduced in 2011. After international buyers responded to the Autumn/Winter 2012 work, the project was renamed Ziggy Chen for Spring/Summer 2013 and developed into an independent menswear label shown in Paris.

The brand combines historical Chinese clothing, European tailoring and intensive textile treatment. Relaxed jackets, long coats, articulated trousers and layered shirts are built from wool, linen, ramie, silk, hemp and cotton, then dyed, washed, printed or partially deconstructed to carry the appearance of accumulated wear. The Shanghai atelier controls pattern development, garment construction and surface research, giving the collections a continuity that is less dependent on seasonal novelty.

Footwear entered the main collection for Autumn/Winter 2022, followed by the official launch of womenswear for Spring/Summer 2023. Both categories share the menswear line’s muted palette, generous volume and emphasis on comfort. Ziggy Chen remains active on the Paris menswear calendar while maintaining its studio and production base in Shanghai, with current collections continuing a slower study of memory, weathering and the internal structure of clothing.

Chen treats a garment as a record of use before it reaches the wearer. Yarn dyeing, cold dyeing, washing, screen printing and abrasion soften colour and disrupt a fabric’s original uniformity, allowing natural fibres to hold creases, fading and surface variation. The aim is not artificial ruin, but a material state that can continue changing through wear.

Historical references enter through construction. European lapels and padded shoulders may be interrupted by curved workwear seams, offset closures or the broad drape of East Asian robes and trousers. Chen avoids literal costume, using archival clothing, early Shanghai photography, Song Dynasty painting and Jiangnan architecture as sources for proportion, colour and textile rhythm.

Comfort became increasingly explicit after the Shanghai lockdown of 2022. Patterns were recalibrated around a wider range of bodies, layers became less encumbered and the collections moved towards moderate volume and simpler material combinations. Interiors remain central: half-linings, exposed seam allowances, raw edges and reversible construction allow the garment’s making to remain visible while preserving ease and longevity.