Robert Wun releases fabulist collection; Indian designers did it first

Robert Wun recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his label in Hong Kong with a couture show displaying 12 new pieces at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the ultimate heartfelt homecoming. When asked about the theme of the show, the designer expressed, ““It’s about my grandmother, about Hong Kong women, and the resilient spirit they embody—strong yet graceful.”
Each design conveyed a narrative of power and femininity, merging striking visuals with detailed craftsmanship. The collection featured structured bodices, eye-catching hats, and sharp, exaggerated faux nails that added a rebellious touch. In an unconventional move, the models also held vintage-style cigarettes, releasing delicate smoke trails that heightened the theatricality of the show.
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These surrealist looks are the newest by Wun, known for his transformative designs based on liminal concepts like the passage of time or seasons. This time he spotlights Hong Kong’s essence subtly, drawing from vivid images in his memory: the lively concrete jungle, recognisable ‘grandma shirts’, and street patterns that embody the essence of home for him. “I don’t want to present ‘Hong Kong’ in an overly direct manner. I believe that the most honest expressions can resonate deeply with the audience,” he said. While Wun’s fabulist designs night seem like the first to start an emrgeing trend, designers in India have long been desiging within the magical-realist genre.
For designer Amit Aggarwal, his newest collection was more deterministic. The Indian designer focused on the “cause-and-effect nature of time” and how “time shapes itself through various forms and structures, blending order with fluidity in each moment” for his FDCI India Couture Week collection. “This collection blends philosophical, mythological, religious, scientific, and cosmological ideas, creating a unique vocabulary for the brand. With ANTEVORTA, we delve into the profound relationship between time and the universe, emphasising that nothing exists independently of it,” he said to Elle.
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A designer’s obsession with the fantastical is not as new as we might think. Magic, fantasy and fabulism have always had their place in high fashion. Another Indian maestro employing this concept is Gaurav Gupta. His Couture Week collection was termed Arunodaya, symbolising “the mystical transformation of night into day, symbolising hope, renewal, and the infinite possibilities that come with each new beginning”.
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Similarly, an under-the-radar Indian designer who uses this subversion for wearable fits instead of haute couture is Ashish Gupta. His political work under label Ashish is composed of sequins aims to “disrupt and deceive the eye, with trompe l’oeil effects and unexpected references”. The designer’s use of sequins to create knit wear, as well as his playful yet seditious take on fashion, introduces a sense of imaginative exploration — qualities that evoke the ethos of magical realism but in a highly artistic, grounded way.“Part of my attraction to sequins is that collision of high and low taste. When I started designing, they really had this dodgy cocktail dress kind of association. I love a bit of bad taste, so that was part of it,” he said to the Guardian in 2023.
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A highlight of the industry though, has to be P.E.L.L.A. While the current website of the designer is not functioning, the founder, Priyanka Ella Lorean Lama is usually found at offline couture festivals. “Deliberate imperfections are incorporated in the design to give a ‘wrong’ solution to an otherwise correct norm. My patterns are often developed from a single block of fabric requiring a minimum of measurement and sewing,” said Priyanka to Platform.
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The transitory space between magic and realism has been a big part of the high fashion movement and alongside the likes of Cheney Chan, Maison Margiela and Maison Schiaparelli, it becomes a task born of duty —  to keep an eye out for the Indian designers claiming their space in the genre.