Taipei-Taiwanese designer John Zucca Cheng (???) took center stage at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week held from Feb. 2-5, showcasing his namesake apparel brand.
During the fashion show, Cheng showcased his latest fall/winter collection Future Skin. Accompanied by Taiwanese Indigenous singer-songwriter ABAO’s N1, a 7-track compilation album exclusively featuring artists, the designs attracted much attention.
Cheng said he was honored to bring his brand John Zucca, which combines Taiwanese and Italian fashion aesthetics, to the catwalk, adding that the aim of Future Skin is to convey the idea of breaking with patriarchy, gender bias and hierarchy.
According to Cheng, his creation was inspired by Frank Gehry, a Los Angeles-based modern architectural icon and celebrity who is best known for building curvaceous structures and the style of deconstructivism.
By integrating Gehry’s rigid structural designs and Taiwan’s original cultural elements into the design of his attire, Cheng said he created 12 sets of clothes with unique contours, which challenge the traditional Italian classic style.
Meanwhile, Cheng noted that his fashion designs also embrace sustainability by innovating on the basis of old clothes and using recycled materials.
Cheng was the only non-Italian of four emerging designers invited to the fashion week, also attended by several officials from Taiwan’s representative office in Italy.
Describing Italy as a global leader in fashion and AltaRoma as a cradle of fashion talent, Taiwan’s representative to Italy Lee Sing-ying (???) said he was happy to see the fashion show go ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lee also expressed his delight at seeing Cheng participate at the show, introducing the wider world to Taiwan’s uniquely creative fashion designs. He also voiced the hope that more talented Taiwanese designers will bring their works to Italy to showcase Taiwan’s strength in the field of fashion design.
A number of style icons also attended AltaRoma, including Silvia Venturini Fendi, the third-generation matriarch of the family of Italian luxury fashion house Fendi; General Manager of Altaroma, Adriano Franchi; and Italian singer Vergo.
Teng Mei-jung (???), head of the cultural division of Taiwan’s representative office in Italy, said that Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Economic Affairs have recently worked to boost the development of the local fashion industry by taking local brands international.
The government will encourage more emerging designers to engage in exchanges with fashion circles in Italy, Teng added.
AltaRoma, organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Rome and the Lazio Region and supported by the Italian Trade Agency and Foreign Ministry, aims to boost emerging talent and independent designers.
Cheng obtained a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from Shih Chien University in Taipei and a master’s degree in fashion at Istituto Marangoni in Milano, Italy.
He also studied in ISEM Fashion Business School at the University of Navarra in Madrid.
Cheng won first prize at the 2008 Taiwan Fashion Design Award in Taipei and has worked in London and Madrid. The fashion designer established his brand John Zucca in 2020 in Milan.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel