On September 16, 2025, London time, the independent designer brand ZIFEI WANG unveiled its Spring/Summer 2025 collection, “Endless River,” at Waldorf Hilton in London Fashion Week. This event celebrated ZIFEI WANG’s tenth anniversary, founded by founder and creative director Zifei Wang.

 

Inspired by the Haihe River in Tianjin and the folk culture around it, the collection showcases the healing power of folk-art to industrialized cities, presenting a cultural fusion where international creativity meets classical Oriental elements.

The theme “Endless River” metaphorically reflects the historical, architectural, and cultural connections between Tianjin and London— “The Haihe Meets the Thames.” This theme underscores the significance of Zifei Wang’s London show and its collaboration with Tianjin's cultural and tourism sectors in the context of international cultural exchange.

 

This season, ZIFEI WANG delves into Tianjin’s folk traditions while integrating innovative elements. The collection reveals the city’s unique cultural charm, showcasing a blend of the East and West, ancient and modern, high-end luxury and folk culture through vibrancy and tranquillity. The collection features sustainable fashion through the use of bamboo fiber fabrics, while incorporating traditional craftsmanship with the inclusion of Hua Luo and Xiangyun silk. Zifei Wang collaborated with five fabric companies, seven jewellery brands, and three footwear brand, drawing inspiration from Tianjin’s Haihe River, the Yangliuqing New Year’s painting Museum, old industrial factories, and the Porcelain House. These collaborations narrate Tianjin’s cultural memories to a global audience, highlighting the distinctive qualities of oriental civilization and its innovative achievements.

 

The main visual of the show was a collaboration between renowned Chinese sculptor Ren Zhe and ZIFEI WANG, creating a unique flow of river intersections. This immersive experience combined Eastern aesthetics with Western modernity, from a vision of futurism, allowing the audience to appreciate the Haihe River's folk culture and fashion transformation.

 

In this season's three collections, Zifei Wang integrates Western three-dimensional tailoring and deconstruction techniques with traditional Chinese cutting methods. Through abstract hand-drawing, dyeing, fabric modification, patchwork, and pleating, she advances contemporary innovation in ancient culture. She celebrates timeless aesthetics, using an international modern language to highlight the unique charm of Eastern wisdom specifically from Tianjin.

 

 

In the first series of "Endless River," Zifei draws inspiration from the moss found in old industrial factories in Tianjin, showcasing the healing power of nature in an industrial city. This season's show features a colour-blocked moss-green coat that embodies a unique sense of serene strength, while the deconstructed porcelain from the Porcelain House is also presented in the form of moss in the fashion pieces.

 

With its soft green mood, Moss covers the mottled rust and quietly yet resiliently grows among industrial ruins. It symbolises the tenacity of life and the continuation of hope, bringing new life and vitality to all things of the past. Similarly, the folk art around the Hai River nourishes the spiritual and cultural development of the city, much like how moss protects the earth.

Zifei Wang conducted an in-depth study of the shapes, textures, and three-dimensional structures of moss, transforming them into textures in her fashion designs. Moss green becomes the central colour theme throughout the series. She combines the natural forms of moss with the urban textures of Tianjin, giving the clothing a meaning of healing and rebirth. This design is not just a visual representation of moss but a gentle restoration of the scars of an industrial city.

 

The poem by Yuan Mu, "Where sunlight doesn't reach, youth arrive naturally. Although the moss flower is as small as a grain of rice, it still blooms like a peony," expresses moss's humble yet resilient spirit. In Tianjin, an ancient and charming city, there are not only riverside concerts, traditional opera houses in parks, and famous street sayings like "borrowing money to eat seafood isn't considered a loss" and "money or no money, just enjoy yourself," but also a rich community culture that provides residents with abundant cultural support. From the chic, bourgeois atmosphere of the Five Great Avenues to the traditional Tianjin snacks, these unique cultural elements of Tianjin offer a sense of spiritual comfort and belonging to its residents, alleviating the stresses and sorrows of daily life. These elements all reflect Tianjin’s rich intangible cultural heritage.

 

 

 

The design transformed from moss green to the warm gold with deep brown hues of the Thames at sunset, showcased through ZIFEI WANG's abstract hand-painted textured jacquard fabric, then finally to a striking combination of industrial rust red with black and white, creating a mottled picture that is both nostalgic and futuristic.

As designer Zifei Wang mentioned in a pre-show interview, exploring the culture of clothing is inseparable from the study of history. The second series evoked the memories of the notable history of the Republic of China era hidden behind industrial factories, as well as the architectural styles of the 1920s Art Deco movement. Literary giants, revolutionary pioneers, and historical figures like Li Shutong, Eileen Chang, Qiu Jin, and Lin Huiyin all have strong connections to Tianjin.

 

In ZIFEI WANG's work, we can see a reverence for tradition alongside a pursuit of innovation. The collection features figures like Qiu Jin, an early feminist representative whose tenacious and courageous revolutionary spirit is embodied in a gender-neutral Eastern aesthetic. This reflects Tianjin's vibrant and pioneering historical trends and the designer's exploration of gender fluidity and contemporary social reflection. Additionally, Lin Huiyin's reconstruction of traditional literature and interpretation of the spirit of the era are evident, as ZIFEI WANG skillfully uses deconstructive design to interpret a classical oriental style. This season’s fashion series creatively blends culture and innovation from a unique perspective, emphasizing the dialectical unity of tradition and innovation. This series also reflects designer Zifei Wang's profound tribute to Tianjin's historical and cultural heritage.

 

 

Along the banks of the Tianjin Haihe and the River Thames in London, the contours of history blend with modern currents. The Haihe, Tianjin's mother river, has witnessed the city's transformation from a fishing village to an open port. Similarly, the Thames has served as London's lifeline, evolving from Roman times to the present. Both rivers embody rich historical and cultural narratives, where Eastern and Western influences converge in architecture, art, and fashion. This clothing series from ZIFEI WANG draws inspiration from the connection between these two iconic rivers.

The Haihe and Thames symbolise cultural, economic, and artistic exchanges, representing a romantic collision of the Eastern and Western cultures—from classical to modern, literature to art—telling the shared story of urban development while fostering a dialogue across time and space.

 

This series aims to illustrate the harmonious coexistence of modern industry and nature. Each piece embodies a respect for history and a vision for the future, inviting exploration of the historical depth and fashion innovation on both sides of the canal. Inspired by Tianjin's industrial ruins, the designers incorporate metallic tones and textures, creating a visual and emotional feast through the fusion of cultures.

For ZIFEI WANG and designer Zifei Wang, the "Endless River" series is an attempt at both inheritance and transformation, emphasizing the coexistence between modern urban life and the nature, where both spiritual and physical ecology are equally emphasized. It narrates a seamless integration of past and future while honouring the histories and cultures of Tianjin and London, infusing them with a spirit of modernity and innovation.