An acknowledgement of the ‘before’ as it travels towards the ‘after.’
AWAYLEE Debuts at Shanghai Fashion Week
On October 13, 2025, Awaylee unveiled The Butterfly Dream at Shanghai Fashion Week — the first collection under Creative Director, Sue-Ann San. The collection and its accompanying show drew deep inspiration from the cultural artefacts of China, exploring the rich history of its innovation in arts and crafts, particularly in areas like metalwork and intricate pearl inlay.
The SS26 collection is a meditation on the mechanics of becoming, tracing the voyage of metamorphosis — slight and imperceptible, yet constant and layered — unfolding in time. Awaylee’s design philosophy moves through time not in a line, but in spirals, revisiting the past and relaunching into the future. It is an acknowledgement of the “before” as it travels towards the “after,” blurring the distinction, becoming the transition — like mapping the shared life thread of the caterpillar and the butterfly, dream and reality.
Awaylee uses its garments to represent a visual dialogue of culture and philosophy. Each garment is a canvas, drawing on the concepts of time, nature, and art as guiding principles of design, informing the silhouettes, materials, and construction.
The SS26 designs incorporate cultural artefacts, blending a sense of heritage with modern sensibilities. The collection places a strong emphasis on luxury fabrics, with silk as a key focus, celebrating its significant role in Chinese history. Each piece is further elevated with detailed embroidery and beading, inspired by butterfly motifs and the traditional silverwork and batik found in regional Chinese arts and crafts.
For the show, Awaylee collaborated with a group of tongcao flower artisans to bring the artistry of this intangible cultural heritage to the international fashion stage. The collaborators included Zhu Xin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of the Tongcao Flower Craft of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; Guozi KASHI, a disciple of Li Yifan, a representative inheritor of Beijing’s intangible heritage; You Zhenzi, an artisan who channels poetic sensibility through tongcao flower craftsmanship; Ding Maimai, a young creator known for her distinctive style, and He Luliufeng, a tongcao artist who has cultivated her craft for many years.
Tongcao flowers are made from the pure, white pith of the Tetrapanax papyrifer plant. After dozens of days of meticulous hand-cutting, shaping, and dyeing, the material transforms into lifelike blossoms. Carrying the grace of ancient Eastern aesthetics and the warmth of handcraft, these flowers dance lightly among the garments as if breathing with life. With this collaboration, Awaylee merges artistic craftsmanship with contemporary design, showcasing the creative reinterpretation of traditional techniques within a modern fashion context — allowing heritage to blossom anew.
The event was a fully immersive, cinematic experience, shaped by a mood and color palette directly inspired by the work of filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. Its central theme drew from the philosophical concept of Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream, exploring the butterfly’s layered symbolism — from its embodiment of faithful love in the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai to its evocation of spiritual rebirth, freedom, and transcendence.
Infused with these ideas, the show staging and environment invited a contemplative calm, gently blurring the line between reality and dream. It felt like an escape into intimate, quiet luxury, where the beauty of nature was elevated as a true form of opulence, offering guests a sense of serene refinement. In keeping with this intention, attendees were meant to feel as though they had stepped into a dreamlike world, enveloped in a sophisticated, meditative atmosphere illuminated by muted light filtering through a soft screen of lanterns.
The Butterfly Dream - SS26
Unveiling soon.