“If you are nor ready, don’t do it”: Interview with WINDOWSEN

In this issue of ASIAN VOICE, we feature WINDOWSEN, a brand from China that blends and celebrates all gender and seeks to reinvent sportswear and couture. Putting an emphasis on “being yourself” and valuing individuality, the brand will talk about its latest collections and how the brand views itself.

Nana : Can you give our readers an introduction to the brand, WINDOWSEN?

WINDOWSEN : WINDOWSEN is a gender-bending brand that envisions an inclusive post-human world, by reinventing sportswear and couture with bold visual language. Through the brand, I hope to create a dreamland where the uniqueness of each independent being is respected and we are all encouraged to be the way we are.

Nana : Why did you decide to name it “WINDOWSEN”?

WINDOWSEN : I knew I would have my own brand one day, and that’s also why I studied fashion. I started WINDOWSEN during my study in Antwerp, but the brand was officially founded in 2019 when I returned to China. The name of the label partially takes from my name (‘sen’ from ‘Sensen’), the Windows operating system and the literal meaning of ‘window’ through which to bridge WINDOWSEN’s otherworldly universe and the reality we are living in.

Nana : What has influenced the creation of the brand and the pieces designed for your brand?

WINDOWSEN : Sci-fi movies are a big inspiration to me, so are the drag culture and some pop music videos back in the days. While developing a new collection, I always immerse myself with them, by watching or even just by
listening.

Nana : What are some of the challenges you have faced during the course of building your brand?

WINDOWSEN : I would say the pandemic of the Covid 19, in 2020 and the situation now in Shanghai. It was complicated and slowed down things and its uncertainties always hit us unexpectedly. We had to change/cancel our schedules and plans.

Nana : How do you come up with the themes for each season?

WINDOWSEN : I always note down if ever I got an inspiration/interesting theme in my mind. It often happens when I watch movies or some Youtube channels hahahaha. So when I start a new collection, I just go back to my notes, choose a theme and develop a story from it.

Nana : Is it possible to let readers know a little about your next collection?

WINDOWSEN : I see my each collection as an episode of a TV series, independent from each other but also inter-connected somehow, as in Black Mirror. So naturally the next season will also be a continuation of the last one with a consistent message. But the upcoming season would be centering around a very specific sport, and I think visually it seems more aggressive than my previous collections, by playing up with the possibilities of silhouette.

Nana : Is there a particular artist, movie, place, book that you would recommend our
readers to check for inspiration?

WINDOWSEN : Dracula (1992)

Nana : Do you have any advice for our readers who are seeking to find a way to build a brand like “WINDOWSEN”?

WINDOWSEN : If you are not ready, don’t do it.