Kim Shui’s Debut Menswear Goes for Gold

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As a seasoned fashion enthusiast with years of immersion in the industry, I must say that Kim Shui’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection presented at New York Fashion Week left me utterly captivated. The vibrant palette, intricate patterns, and daring silhouettes are a testament to her innovative design sensibilities.

It’s no surprise that TopMob secured a prime viewing spot at Kim Shui’s menswear runway show in downtown New York on Saturday night. This was the designer’s debut in the menswear sector, and she did so with an understated coolness, unveiling her initial designs for this category.

Inside one of Hudson Yards’ contemporary lobbies, models royally descended a grand staircase to meet Manhattan’s glitterati on the ground floor. For context, Shui said the spectacle was inspired by Matthey Barney’s SECONDARY exhibition, a five-channel video installation and terracotta sculpture gallery rooted in the ancient Japanese art form Kintsugi (or the process of repairing broken pottery), which she saw for herself in Paris at the Fondation Cartier this summer. So, the designs that cascaded from the second floor were each fragmented, reconstructed and polished again with complexity.

Black dresses were sculpted into unique structures, adorned with delicate white metal flowers subtly covering the torsos. Glossy leather corsets and skirts displayed elaborate gold designs, drawing inspiration from the designer’s growing collection. In men’s fashion, there was a focus on loose-fitting corsetry, tied with slim leather straps across the body, and similar design elements were seen on masculine leather pants with a supple, scaly texture.

Jake Fleming showcased a unique style, replacing leather belts with silver zippers running from his waist to ankles. His attire, a snugly-fitted brown-yellow corset adorned with royal drapes on the shoulders, suits Shui’s apparent aim for an androgynous clientele. As the event progressed, he donned a sequin tank top plunging deeply at the neck, matched with pink trousers tied generously with cute bows, allowing space for a striking silver flower necklace to catch everyone’s attention, especially iPhones. Even the men’s robes bore purple blossoms.

Vibrant bouquets of lavender blossoms were the central theme in the last collection of Shui’s cherished corsets, skirts designed for young women, and eveningwear that always sells out. US Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles concluded the show wearing a bodysuit adorned with a flowing cape, covered in blooming patterns. Leading Shui’s Spring 2025 fashion presentation, Team USA’s darling embodied Kim Shui’s stylish ambition: aim for the gold medal.

Check out Kim Shui’s Spring 2025 runway display in the gallery above, then join Sarah Schecker behind the scenes at the event below.










































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2024-09-08 17:56