Meet The Designer: Wen Pan
Today, we celebrate the launch of ‘RINSE’ the seven-piece capsule collection designed in collaboration with London-based Chinese award-winning designer, Wen Pan. Here, we share more of Wen Pan’s inspirations, what she hopes to achieve with the ‘RINSE’ collection and how the sustainable fashion landscape is changing in China.
Wen Pan is inspired by the stories that our wardrobes tell, the traces of human presence and the wearer’s life and memories that become ingrained in every garment. Each piece from the ‘RINSE’ collection is named after an East London borough - meet The Dalston Trench, Bermondsey Pants, Bethnal Dress, Hoxton Top, Hackney Skirt, Islington Dress and Aldgate Dress - in reference to Wen Pan’s current London home and the imperfection and spirit of freedom that inspires her. A Central Saint Martins graduate with her own brand stocked in the iconic Selfridges, she is also an alumni of the Redress Design Award, finishing as a finalist in the 2015/16 cycle, and has previously interned for McQ by Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane.
Hoxton Top in Upcycled Redwood Silk
When asked about what she hopes to achieve with the ‘RINSE’ collection, she says, “I hope we can find beauty in imperfection. We do not need to dress or look like a celebrity because being ourselves is beautiful enough. My Rinse collection shows that you don’t need to make a loud statement to support sustainable fashion. When women wear pieces from this collection, they can feel a strong pride and inner confidence, ‘I am what I am, and I am making a small effort to make the Earth better, which makes me really cool.’”
And quietly confident the ‘RINSE’ collection is. The Islington Dress, an upcycled silk slip dress with raw edges, cut on the bias with asymmetric seams, drape in a dreamy redwood silk; the Hoxton Top with its boxy oversized fit and asymmetric hem; the Aldgate Dress with sweeping hem; the Bermondsey Pants with its paperbag waist and a strikingly cropped wide leg and the Dalston Trench with its contrast panels and quintessentially British style. Collectively, every piece in the collection is designed with a strong, confident woman in mind.
Dalston Trench, made with upcycled luxury fabrics.
Only 10 pieces were made!
When purchasing her own clothes or designing, Wen Pan is always mindful of the Earth and her environmental impact. “Everything should be sustainable in a way. I always appreciate something long-lasting and with a history,” she says. “Fashion is overwhelmed with mass volumes of quantities and non eco-friendly fast production due to the demands of fashion trends. If all fashion designers could consider sustainable ways to make clothes and still make people feel good, we will create less waste and long-lasting pieces.”
Wen Pan in her London studio
With London and Shanghai being big influencers, Wen Pan is excited to see demand for sustainable fashion in China also growing. “Chinese consumers see sustainable fashion as a new luxury at an affordable price. More and more people appreciate organic and traditional handcraft and luxury upcycling in clothes. China’s fashion landscape is beginning to shift, just like in other parts of the world.”
Every piece from the ‘RINSE’ collection is created using rescued excess luxury fabrics. We upcycle these unwanted fabrics, avoiding the need to create new, virgin materials - which reduces textile waste and also reduces our - and your - carbon footprint.
Islington Dress in Upcycled Redwood Silk
We’re excited to present The R Collective x Wen Pan ‘RINSE’ collection, which is made with limited quantities due to the nature of upcycling available excess luxury materials. Launching our sustainable fashion collections from Hong Kong, in close proximity to Wen Pan’s other home in China, allows us the freedom to work closely with our manufacturing partners, including our social enterprise garment factory in Hong Kong and world-leading garment manufacturer, TAL Apparel who are committed to minimising their environmental impact, which helps us to reduce our own ‘fashion miles’.
Shop the complete ‘RINSE’ collection by The R Collective x Wen Pan.