An Appetite for Fall 2020 Victor Li
Patrick Michael Hughes Senior Fashion Editor
Food can be a wonderful metaphor which many people can share as a form of experience and memory. Victor Li Fall 2020 studied the act of travel and the seduction of the senses linked to global experience. Li states, “…. gastronomy opens us to some of the best cultures in the world.” However, it’s the appetite for the process of global exploration to experience new palates which excites Li. He adorned a number of his looks with food motif ‘badges of honor’ like an Eagle Scout flaunting his experienced hunger for adventure. This a natural manner for Li to create and design since much of his inspiration comes from his extensive travel and art background.
The fall 2020 collection was a mixture of layered looks with some stunning knits enhancing his his earthy hues. A palette of red, moss green, slate, heather blue and tan, a classic fall assembly of wool jersey, corduroy and woven fabrications. What was a quite eye-catching this season was his work with custom fabrication. Li typically sources many of his fabrics in Italy and Japan adding a tactile and visual form of storytelling in his clothes. The consistent narrative is well cut, classically formed and tailored suits and jackets with medium lapels, two button fronts often with a full cut trouser. Everything is easy to work with and travel in with fresh seasonal flexibility of shorts and cropped lengths The scarves and outerwear were also a of varying lengths and fabric weights. There was a a lot of corduroy, however, it was a corduroy coat cleverly draped in a wool jersey flat pattern drape an astute styling detail enhancing Li’s obvious love of hearty and supple textile adding to this season’s trompe’oeil playfulness.
Victor Li’s Fall 2020 was a very thoughtful and well done collection, showing both men’s and women’s styles. This season he partnered with REEBOK to create a special shoe for the brand… the strength and sustenance of Li 2020 collection were the knits and the custom designed textiles evoking a sense of handcraft and collected materials.
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Patrick Michael Hughes is a fashion and decorative arts historian. He writes about fashion culture past and present making connections to New York, London and Copenhagen's fashion weeks with an eye toward men's fashion. He joined IRK Magazine as a fashion men's editor during winter of 2017.
He is often cited as a historical source for numerous pieces appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, LVMH, Conde Nast, Highsnobiety and others. His fashion career includes years as a fashion reporter/producer of branded content for the New York local news in the hyper digital sector. Patrick's love of travel and terrain enabled him to becoming an experienced cross-country equestrian intensively riding in a number of locations in South America Scandinavia,The United Kingdom and Germany. However, he is not currently riding, but rather speaking internationally to designers, product development teams, marketing teams and ascending designers in the US, Europe and China.
Following his BA in the History of Art from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York he later completed graduate studios in exhibition design in New York. it was with the nudge and a conversation in regard to a design assignment interviewing Richard Martin curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art he was encouraged to consider shifting his focus to the decorative arts with a concentration in fashion history and curation.
Patrick completed graduate studies 17th and 18th century French Royal interiors and decoration and 18th century French fashion culture at Musée Les Arts Decoratifs-Musée de Louvre in Paris. Upon his return to New York along with other classes and independent studies in American fashion he earned his MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from the Parsons/Cooper Hewitt Design Museum program in New York. His final specialist focus was in 19th century English fashion and interiors with distinction in 20th century American fashion history and design.
Currently, he is an Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons School of Design leading fashion history lecture-studios within the School of Art and Design History and Theory,
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