Genius comes in all forms and fashion is one of them. These three women are completely admirable for their self-named labels and creations that never ever cease to amaze and innovate.
Wearable art. You’ll see.
First up, Rui Zhou.
A young chinese designer and graduate from Parsons School of Design in New York. In just two short years, she’s made a name for herself in the fashion industry, working with artists such as Solange, and gracing the pages of countless magazines with her boundary-pushing bodysuits. Zhou changed the meaning of bodysuits, making them a main attraction when the initial use was to provide a backdrop to another statement piece and act as another simple layer. She reversed the role of the item in a beautiful, elegant yet daring way.
The intricate and delicate figure hugging and resculpting designs, inspired by water with wave-like movements and circular shapes in the pieces are mesmerizing. With time, she has added other pieces to accompany the bodysuits, including sleeves and leg pieces strung together with pearls to complete the haute couture, extremely fragile and natural looking pieces.
The muted and nude colors and sheer, hand-weaved stretched fabrics make for “clothing” designed to put forward the female body, leaving little to the imagination, but making the whole piece look like mythical, ethereal goddess-like attire.
With her label gaining recognition, Rui Zhou launched a ready-to-wear collection featuring beautiful tank tops, bodysuits and sleeves. Her classic approach of circular shapes, thin lines, light fabrics and skin exposure are back in black and nude colors. For this particular “Rui” collection, the designer made her pieces more accessible, and simple while keeping her beautiful, signature way of highlighting the wearer’s body.
"Rhui Zhou celebrates women and empowers them through fashion that is so divine and creative it becomes wearable art." -Sam, The Peel Good Magazine
Photos from instagram.com/ruiofficial.me
Next up, Mowalola Ogunlesi.
The nigerian designer, who dropped out of a world-renowned British fashion school in 2017 now has a strong reputation and a bright future ahead of her at just 25 years old. After releasing a few of her own collections, she recently got the title of creative director for the much anticipated Yeezy X Gap collection, a huge opportunity to shake up and show her true colors to the fashion world.
With a few collections and fashion shows already done, she has made a name for herself as a designer who destroys gender constructs, challenges the norms, reinvents clothes, and last but not least, has an impeccable understanding of leather. Her intense, daring and rebellious pieces take inspiration from her home country in the 70s, the music she loves and the world she wants to live in. Her clothes often play with gender norms and the human body, like low rise pants showing a man’s pelvic bone, the daring thong poking out of a skirt or a men’s shirt tied with a bow, exposing the chest. Masculinity is femininity is masculinity with Mowalola Ogunlesi.
Upon my discovery of Mowalola Ogunlesi, the item that had captured my attention was a simple, small circular bag with a completely round and simplistic silhouette complemented by intense, eye-punching colors and a graphic writing stating her brand, “Mowalola”. The marketing pictures for said product were very provocative, sexual and retro-looking, therefore showing the fun, careless side of the brand in an awesome way that is captivating.
"Mowalola Ogunlesi is an example for black women wanting to pursue fashion all over the world, a token of liberal expression, but most importantly, a free woman that does whatever she wants, and shows people social norms can be broken and challenged through art."
-Sam, The Peel Good Magazine
Photos from Instagram.com/mowalola
Last but not least, Amina Muaddi.
A 30 year old Italian-born designer so good, her party/cocktail heels sold out in lockdown! She’s been on the fashion scene for a couple of years but only went her own way with her self-named label last year. Now at the top of the shoemaking food chain with the most in-demand footwear label, Amina Muaddi is here to stay. Her sophisticated yet playful shoes never disappoint.
The inspiration behind her brand comes from her mom and her childhood. Born in post-communist Romania, Muaddi never really stayed in one place. She stayed in Jordan and Brescia, a city close to Milan, one of the four fashion capitals of the world. Her sophisticated, well-dressed (head-to-toe!), elegant mother was an inspiration to her. Amina Muaddi’s experience travelling and living in different environments gave her a feel of what the modern woman wants to wear; something chic, versatile, vibrant and very sophisticated.
The heel of the shoe, a recurring trademark of hers, caught my attention in a random instagram post, and I have been obsessed ever-since. The slim, square heels that end in a wider, almost pyramid-shaped base set themselves apart in a captivatingly stylish way. The bright colors and satin, matte or even translucent materials are all incomparable. Whether it’s a funky PVC neon heel, a beautiful embellished sandal, a sleek boot or a classic pump you’re looking for, Amina Muaddi will bring it to you with the effortless elegance you’re looking for.
"This designer is changing the shoe game, bringing elegance and fun to the table, while also being another strong, powerful woman bringing diversity to the fashion world." -Sam, The Peel Good Magazine
Photos from instagram.com/aminamuaddiofficial
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Written and produced by: Samantha St-Pierre,
Founder+Editor-in-Chief of The Peel Good Magazine
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