On March 29, 1974, local farmers in the Chinese province of Shaanxi were digging a well when they came across a piece of a clay figure that led to the discovery of the Terracotta Army- which went unearthed for over 2,000 years. The first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huangdi (reigned 221-210 BCE), was a man obsessed with his mortality; he commissioned these remarkably individual and life-sized statues of over 8,000 soldiers, 600 horses, 100 chariots and waterfowl around his mausoleum to protect and greet him in the afterlife.

The once brightly painted lacquer of the soldiers flaked due to exposure to the elements, leaving them the reddish-brown hue of their terracotta clay base. As a kid, Lo marvelled at these statues, not just their uniqueness and magnitude but their perseverance. Oxidation, fire and dehydration may have altered the statue’s hue, yet they never faltered-even two thousand years later. Today, these statues have come to life, reincarnated in a far-out spiky utopia for Lo’s AW24 collection.

In this new world, Lo plays with the balance and scale of the brand’s iconic spikes. They run across the hoodie’s sleeves’ sides, down the back’s centre, and along trousers and fishtail skirts in columns. A pair of felted wool sarong trousers with spikes along their exterior has a belt, marrying Lo’s east meets west influences. Mid-length skirts and trousers have spikes that begin midway and amplify in size. Wool hybrid skirt trousers that nod to the armour’s silhouettes and off-the-shoulder jumpers begin in spikes and then transform into ribbed knits that cling to the body.

Liquid metal-esque double-breasted hooded jumpers done in yarns provided by Tollengo 1900 and silver handknit paillette headdresses serve as reinterpretations of the stone helmets of the Qin dynasty. A grey and garnet sleeveless, slightly cropped turtleneck and wool trousers that twist at the knee are materialised in a felted spike print that evokes an awoken statue crackling as it comes back to life.

The work of German visual artist Gerhard Ritcher inspires the season’s colour palette. A velvet Devoré top slashed at the shoulder and a skirt share a repeating square pattern that ties back to the decaying lamellar armour covering the soldiers’ chests and references Ritcher’s ‘Uran’ 1989 painting. Making its catwalk debut alongside Chet Lo’s AW24 collection are the handbags and footwear in Lo’s capsule collection with Charles & Keith. The collaboration sees Lo take classic staples like ballet flats and the sling-back heel and subvert them in spiky variations- worn in the show with socks provided by Pantherella.

The Chet Lo x Charles & Keith capsule collection is available in Charles & Keith retail stores and online via CHARLESKEITH.COM and CHETLO.COM

Credits: 

Stylist – Jeanie-Annan Lewin
Make Up – Isamaya Ffrench
Hair – Anna Cofone with ABC
Nails – Angel My Linh
Casting – Roxane Dia

Words – Trey Gaskin

Production – Blonstein
Shoes and Accessories – Charles and Keith x Chet Lo and Pedro

Press – PURPLE