In Greek mythology, the Moirai — or the “Fates” — use thread to determine the lifespans and destinies of humans and deities before they are even born. The three daughters of Nyx, the goddess of night, work together in an assembly line of sorts, granting every life a preordained trajectory: Clotho (“the Spinner”) spins one’s thread of life, Lachesis (“the Allotter”) measures, and Atropos (“the Inevitable”) cuts it. For Allina Liu’s AW24 collection, The Daughters of Nyx, the designer explores the myth and its motif through a contemporary and personal lens.
A red rope weaves through the collection, both in the recurring print and in the presentation itself, where it was braided into the models’ hair and connected them as an ongoing tether. It added a theatrical element to Liu’s AW24 presentation, where models stood in ominous lighting in Apotheke, a mysterious Doyer Street bar emulating old European apothecaries. With intricate elixirs in hand, viewers wove through the space, observing the collection’s detail under the low lighting.
Liu reinterpreted the Moirai with a personal twist by situating her narrative in the context of her Asian American upbringing. The rope and knot imagery, while alluding to the thread of life in Chinese culture, also toys with the theme of sexual prowess, as Liu’s exploration of her sexuality was an especially prominent battle in her traditional Chinese household.
The primary print was created in collaboration with LA-based artist Leanne Kissinger, who hand paints motifs with gouache before translating them into a repeat pattern. Throughout the design process, they drew inspiration from other Asian American artists whose work challenge cultural taboos around sexuality – specifically, the late Chinese photographer Ren Hang and the controversial Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. Araki’s work – which largely focuses on women tied or suspended in Japanese Shibari robes – particularly resonated with Kissinger and Liu, as it played with both suppression and exploration. Similarly intricate and complex, Liu’s work also adds to the conversation around self discovery and sexual exploration in a Chinese American upbringing through painting, prints, performance, and fashion.
Explore the collection below…
