WANG YUTAO – INDEPENDENT DESIGNER AND 2014 INTERNATIONAL WOOLMARK PRIZE NOMINEE, CHINA. Wang Yutao has been a pioneer in shaping the national fashion landscape in China for over ten years. Yutao is a marksman in fine tailoring and traditional heritage craftsmanship, fusing both Eastern and Western cultures to create modern, clean lines which encapsulate the brands philosophy—simplicity. Aiming to expand the ready-to-wear vernacular and inspired by the obsessive pursuit for both masculine and feminine ideals, the 2014 International Woolmark Prize nominee describes his design process as architectural, a formal discipline and mode of address. “I want to challenge global perceptions of Chinese designers and offer people a new, updated perspective of our local industry,” says Yutao. Yutao trained at the world-renowned Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, China, and his painstaking attention to detail is applied in equal measure to the meticulous construction of the garments and the illustrations he designs for the global luxury brand. Acute symmetry and contrast tones play reference to the pseudo-sexual dynamic at the heart of Yutao’s dialogue, while experimenting with texture, volume, culture and image, underscore an abstract impression with a subtly cool attitude. Yutao cleverly isolates the strange in the familiar, seamlessly extending the exotic undertones of his men’s collection into his womenswear, absorbing his hometown’s extraordinarily deep cultural heritage.
