Wearable Art Beyond a Concept Lies a Reality

Over the past few years, fashion has turned to art in search for an inexhaustible source of inspiration, shaping a new concept of clothing: wearable art. Wearable art refers to the idea that a certain type of fashion can be closely associated with art, and become art.

Here at MENG, we think it takes a little more than that. Beyond a simple, abstract concept, creating “wearable art” relies on a completely different approach to creating fashion.

I founded my eponymous luxury lifestyle label MENG, from my desire to create art, first and foremost. I didn’t know what product category I wanted to develop. My only requirement was that my creations would have to be beautiful enough to be their own piece of art – to look at home hanging on the walls.

Our design process starts with the print, with the same approach and care artists put into their work. Only much later do they become elaborate ornaments that adorn our womenswear, menswear, homeware, accessories and stationery. We’ve used so many techniques over the years – watercolour, acrylic, gouache, oil, pencil – before taking anything to digital.

Our prints are painted using traditional techniques before they are applied onto our various collections. This approach allows for our intricate designs to effortlessly lend themselves to different formats and mediums, which we are still experimenting with as we have recently launched our debut menswear collection and an exclusive stationery line.