The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2024 - Issue 35

bitecatwalk O ne can almost smell the sweet scent of lilac and heather wafting as this decidedly co- quettish collection of lace, ruffles, and bows walked the runway this season. It made the audience feel like they were in the lead-up scene to a Bridgerton episode of passion unfolding on the English country- side’s soft, grassy fields. While this collection’s undeni- ably ladylike and feminine theme cannot be disputed, there was slight angst, even aggression. Yuhan Wang drew inspiration from one of literature’s virtuous women, Tess Durbeyfield, fromThomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman . It first appeared as a censored, serialised three-part form in the illustrated weekly newspaper The Graph- ic in 1891 and later as a novel, a story of legendary female empowerment. Tess, a poor 16-year-old girl born into an unfortunate family, is spared no kind- ness. After being sexually abused, giving birth to an ill and frail child, and a life scurrying from awful jobs and tedious men, Tess is treated to a few ‘moments’ of love. However, she is turned away due to the past, which was not her fault. She moves on as best she can and reencounters her predator, who she finally murders. Her long-lost lover returns to whisk her away before the authorities can find them, but on the stone altar of Stonehenge, she surrenders and is later executed. It’s an unfathomable story of the pain and suffering of a woman thrown into multiple situations because of her status and sex, and she could not escape the horrendous treatment thrust upon her. As such, Wang displayed this juxtaposition of hard and soft, a strong foundation covered in an all too frilly exterior in their designs. I love the story and Tess as their muse, but I must ad- mit I didn’t get the sailor looks or the fawn, teddy bear and kitten prints. The ethereal whimsy was there with the sheer nightie-like gowns, the lace, and the sheer knee-highs, but I didn’t understand the ragged and disjointed raffia look. https://yuhanwang.co.uk YUHAN WANG