Peng Tai

Peng Tai is a Taiwanese-born, Paris-based designer who studied MA Fashion Menswear at the London College of Fashion, graduating in 2017. Today, Peng Tai is carried in 23 cities worldwide, among them Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a testament to the label’s international appeal and the designer’s global upbringing. The core of Peng Tai is the balance between nature and humans. Peng is never restrained by one aesthetic only; instead, he wants to show the variation of this relationship with time and environments. The romanticism also comes through in both form and function in his clothes. Think intricately pleated tops reminiscent of the Edwardian era, gauzy tea dresses, and structured dresses with exposed seams and raw hems. One has the impression that it would all unravel at the slightest touch—and this is, perhaps, the result that Peng is going for. Where his genius really comes through is in his homage to his Chinese roots. Drawing on the principle of the five elements in Chinese culture—earth, wood, metal, fire and water—and the belief that balance can only be achieved when all five elements are in harmony, Peng takes this concept and expands upon it in his collections. “We put this idea into the process of making our garments. For example, metal is for sewing, water is for washing, fire is for dyeing. If we balance each stage during the process, we can make a garment better.” Further tying in his Chinese heritage, Peng also employs a unique technique that is a signature of the house. In their signature dyeing technique, what they use is Chinese herbal medicine as a dye, which is relevant to the idea of balancing. Its goal is to heal the human body by making the energy equal between different organs, not like giving an injection or an operation. It takes time and lets the body return to a state of well- being naturally.