Sculptural silk duchess satin, fluid shapes, clean tailoring, unexpected volume, hand-applied crystals and intricate beading. Claudia Li’s latest collection, A Love Letter to New York, is a beautifully assured exploration of modern occasion dressing, and one that feels particularly exciting for us at Together Journal. Li has extended her distinctive design language into a new private-client, made-to-order offering encompassing luxury event wear, bridalwear and special-occasion dressing. For the fashion-conscious bride already drawn to the Claudia Li aesthetic, it opens up an entirely new way to wear the label, bringing the same sculptural silhouettes, colour and directional design into the world of weddings and celebration.
There is drama here, but also restraint. Silk duchess satin, fil coupé, silk taffeta, silk shantung and jacquards have been chosen for the way they hold shape, catch light and create movement. Fluidity softens architectural silhouettes, while crystal embroidery and a fully beaded gown introduce texture and luminosity. Some looks are bold and sculptural; others beautifully pared back, but throughout, an ease keeps the collection from ever feeling overly formal.
The use of colour is equally compelling. Ivory and black create a strong foundation, punctuated by lavender, cherry blossom pink, duck egg, cream, butter yellow and antique gold. It is romantic without becoming overly sweet, and particularly beautiful when those softer shades are applied to Li’s strong silhouettes and unexpected proportions.
For a publication devoted to modern weddings, fashion and celebration, there is so much here that resonates. Li is not proposing bridal as a single white dress for a single moment. Instead, she considers the broader wardrobe that now surrounds a wedding: ceremonies, engagement parties, dinners, afterparties and those occasions that do not necessarily require a name.
It feels particularly attuned to the way women want to dress for weddings now. A bride might choose an ivory sculptural gown for the ceremony, but equally be drawn to colour, embellishment or tailoring for another part of the celebration. These are clothes with enough personality to stand alone, rather than relying on traditional bridal codes to give them their sense of occasion.
The collection’s title is deeply personal. New York is where Li built her international career, and where she met her now-husband in 2016, on the corner of 55th and 6th, where the LOVE sculpture once stood. Ten years later, that memory became the emotional starting point for a collection Li describes as her own version of love in New York.
Her references are wonderfully cinematic. Brownstone steps, flowers wrapped in paper, the West Village at dusk, candlelit dinners, martinis and white tablecloths, Chet Baker drifting through a room, yellow taxis glowing after dark and a late-night dollar slice on the way home. Li imagines the clothes moving through these different stages of celebration, from a quiet ceremony to dinner, dancing and the spontaneous moments that become meaningful simply because we remember them.
It also connects two places central to Li’s life. A New Zealand-Chinese designer who grew up partly in New Zealand before establishing her career in New York, Li has now returned to spend significant time here while maintaining her label’s international reach.
Her career puts that achievement into perspective. Li established her eponymous label in New York in 2015 after completing her MFA at Parsons School of Design. She went on to present on the official New York Fashion Week schedule, was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Art & Style list and became a Fashion Group International Rising Star Award recipient and International Woolmark Prize US finalist. Her work has been worn by Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Venus Williams, and exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
We had the pleasure of seeing A Love Letter to New York in person when Li presented the collection at New Zealand Fashion Week in August this year. Presented as an intimate salon show at The Northern Club, it was the second time we had seen Li present in New Zealand, and one of the shows we were particularly enamoured with. The close proximity gave us the chance to appreciate the movement, construction and craftsmanship of the garments, with Partridge Jewellery personally selected by Li to complete the looks.
Li describes the collection as a series of modern heirlooms for celebration, memory and the art of dressing up, which seems exactly right. These pieces feel intended not simply to photograph beautifully or make an entrance, but to become attached to the memories of the person wearing them.
A Love Letter to New York may be rooted in the city where Li built her extraordinary career and found love, but there is something equally compelling about this chapter being written with New Zealand once again part of her world.
We are incredibly fortunate to have Claudia Li creating from New Zealand, and delighted to see her exceptional eye turned towards bridal, event wear and the many wonderful reasons we still love getting dressed up.
For more information, visit claudia-li.com and @claudialiofficial
