Owen Zhang brings SUNCUN’s SS2027 collection “Wen Feng Ji Meng” to London Fashion Week
Photos: SUNCUN (三寸盛京)
Owen Zhang prefers to call himself a tailor rather than a fashion designer, and he can explain the difference.
“A designer focuses on concepts and visuals, while a tailor takes full responsibility for fabric, structure, the human body and real wearing experience,” he says.
On 21 September 2026, SUNCUN brought that philosophy to London. SUNCUN (三寸盛京) presented its SS2027 collection, “Wen Feng Ji Meng” (“Dreams Borne On The Wind”), at London Fashion Week as the brand’s 10th Anniversary London Presentation. Zhang, also known as Zhang Yan, has now presented his work across New York, Paris, London and Milan.
Flanelle Magazine interviewed the label following the show, describing the collection as part of the growing influence of Chinese couture at London Fashion Week and on the global fashion stage. For a designer who began with single-client tailoring in Shenyang, that is a long way from home.
THE TAILOR’S STANDARD
The idea took shape early in Zhang’s career. During his bespoke years, he spent a month in Shenyang working with intangible cultural heritage artisans on a couture embroidery project. The master repeatedly unpicked and restitched work that appeared complete, not because the embroidery lacked beauty, but because its weight, proportion and comfort did not yet serve the body.
“Craft does not serve visuals; it serves people,” Zhang says.
Structure comes before decoration, and it remains the starting point for every SUNCUN piece.
The brand name carries the same idea. Shengjing is the historical name of Shenyang, where Zhang was born and raised. San Cun means “three inches,” a small measure that Zhang treats as a creative principle: beauty can begin with something simple.
Over ten years, SUNCUN has developed from traditional couture into a contemporary design system for modern bodies and everyday life. The brand combines traditional craftsmanship with refined silhouettes.
FOUR FASHION WEEKS IN A DECADE
In February 2019, at 24, Zhang presented SUNCUN at New York Fashion Week following an invitation from IMG. Fashion Week Online also reported on the label’s FW19 collection that season. Later that year, SUNCUN brought the SS2020 “Shanhai” collection to Paris, presenting at the Petit Palais.
London followed in February 2024, when SUNCUN presented during London Fashion Week through Fashion Scout. Fashion Week Online also featured SUNCUN during its London Fashion Week coverage that year.
Milan followed seven months later with the SS2025 “Bridge” collection presented during Keqiao Day’s Milan Fashion Week programme.
WHY LONDON, AGAIN
The AW2024 collection “Kaitian” carried a grand and monumental atmosphere. “Wen Feng Ji Meng” is softer, more poetic and more personal.
Zhang calls London the most inclusive global platform for cross-cultural dialogue. While many Chinese audiences may already recognise the references behind traditional craftsmanship and philosophy, London allows SUNCUN to present Chinese fashion through a different lens: one focused on restraint, proportion and emotion.
For international audiences, SUNCUN positions SS2027 as contemporary Eastern philosophical fashion rather than retro costume wear.
“The beauty of Eastern clothing is not just the style; it is the Eastern philosophy itself,” Zhang says.
WIND, DREAM AND EMPTINESS
The collection comes from Zhang’s long relationship with Tang and Song poetry, traditional Chinese painting composition and Taoist ideas of emptiness and rhythm.
In the philosophy behind the collection, wind represents the transient world, while dream represents the illusory nature of human life. Both are invisible, yet both carry the deepest human emotions.
Zhang does not reproduce historical images directly. Instead, SUNCUN translates these ideas through draping, layering and transparent structures.
The runway follows a quiet narrative. It opens with stillness and emptiness, moves through flowing layers and greater movement, reaches a free and dreamlike climax, and returns to a calm and reserved finale.
The palette remains understated: mist grey, smoke white, indigo cyan, dusty purple and soft ink black. Heavyweight silk, hand-blended linen-silk, translucent gauze and matte brocade form the foundation of the collection.
Elongated silhouettes, asymmetric draping and a new “wind-trace layered structure” create movement within controlled forms. At close range, details emerge through gradient hand-dyed edges, hidden hand stitching and micro-embroidery designed to appear through movement.
The most difficult creative decision, Zhang says, was removing obvious cultural symbols and allowing structure and emotion to carry the meaning.
THREE LOOKS
Look 03, “Stillness after wind,” combines heavyweight silk with translucent gauze and minimal hidden embroidery. Created over 120 hours with the Liaoning Intangible Heritage Embroidery Studio, the piece represents Zhang’s restrained, quiet design spirit.
Look 11, “Wind chasing dreams,” uses hand-dyed linen-silk and the collection’s flowing layered structure. The piece was developed over 145 hours with the Sino-French Haute Couture Embroidery Atelier. Zhang describes it as the emotional centre of the season..
The finale, Look 20, “Dream returns to emptiness,” brings together matte traditional brocade, 3D couture tailoring and textured embroidery over 110 hours. Zhang sees the piece as a reflection of SUNCUN’s ten-year development.
CRAFT, AND WHO WEARS IT
At SUNCUN, traditional craft is treated as a practice that continues to evolve. The collaborating studios are credited in show publications and receive fair market remuneration. Zhang works with artisans as creative partners, bringing traditional techniques into contemporary design.
The brand also documents traditional techniques for youth education and public transmission.
The garments are designed for wearers who appreciate refined silhouettes, craftsmanship and thoughtful design. They are intended for formal events, artistic occasions and refined daily wear.
Following the London presentation, pieces will be available through global buyer orders, international couture appointments, the official website and retail partners. The label’s La Brocart (Chengyi Bureau) and TURANZZ lines extend the same design principles into everyday dressing.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The question behind SUNCUN’s first decade is how heritage can remain alive without becoming costume.
After London, Zhang plans to continue refining SUNCUN’s design system and deepen global craft collaboration. His stated goal is to develop a design language for Chinese contemporary fashion that is rooted in philosophy and compatible with international audiences.
ABOUT SUNCUN
Founded in 2015 in Shenyang by Owen Zhang (Zhang Yan), SUNCUN is a Chinese haute couture and contemporary Eastern fashion brand. Working with Chinese artisans, the brand focuses on intangible heritage embroidery, traditional fabrics and single-client tailoring, with ready-to-wear collections through La Brocart (Chengyi Bureau) and TURANZZ.
For the latest collections and updates, follow SUNCUN on Instagram at @suncun_official.
