Didu RTW Spring 2023
Di Du let her id run wild this season. The latest collection of her brand let loose a raw and barely contained anger, playing with the female form and militaristic fabric as well as iconic Western imagery.
She was inspired by Italian artist Monica Bonvicini, who has been exploring the male-dominated fields gendered spaces since the ’90s. Du’s particular touchstone was Bonvicini’s 2019 work “I Cannot Hide My Anger,” and that was laid bare here, silkscreened on a bright blue miniskirt topped with a barely there strip of fabric. The traditional codes of femininity — long nails, luscious hair — were upended, hands were dipped in mud, eye makeup was askew and hair was messy and matted.
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“In COVID-19, [testing] positive is bad and negative is good — and the inverse of our feelings shouldn’t be shameful. We share happiness and ‘good,’ we should also be able to share the ‘bad’ feelings of anger,” she said.
Du used cowboy accessories in boots, hats and big belt buckles, pulling in the tropes of the Wild West. She took the codes from chaps with unusual seams and strategic cutouts, as well as a horse head statement piece. She is bucking against the new norms of closed borders and shutdowns, as well as the global political state that feels more and more precarious by the day, reflected in full skirts made of military camouflage.
The Shanghai based designer relocated to Paris while working on this collection, and it’s clear that the Didu woman — and the designer herself — needs the freedom to roam.
Launch Gallery: Didu RTW Spring 2023
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