interview by Kim Shveka
photographs by Jasmin Avner
In this SS26 collection, ten models exist together in a small office space, engaging in mundane actions, terrestrial to their own little planet, all marooned in their own thoughts. We are invited in as foreigners to the scene, drifting among the models yet sensing an unmistakable barrier between us and them. The experience is filled with dissonances, but the biggest anomaly is the clothing, which portrays a colorful childhood within the somber, 9-to-5, depressing atmosphere. This is the tableau of Taiwanese designer Jen-Fang Shueh’s fashion brand, Jenny Fax. Surrounded by smoke and the sound of Taiwanese lullabies, I met Jen for an interview.
KIM SHVEKA: From the soft lullaby-like music, the smoke, and of course the outfits—this presentation paints a clear picture of childhood. How does this correlate with the office setting?
JEN-FANG SHUEH: I’m very difficult. There’s always chaos in my mind. I don’t know how I decided to finally mix those up together. I always mix my memories with new things I see.
SHVEKA: Can you let us into your childhood memories?
SHUEH: I grew up with three siblings, so we didn’t have a lot of clothes. There were so many limits when I was younger, but now I can become free.
SHVEKA: What value did you want to add by us walking amongst the models, and being a part of the installation?
SHUEH: Maybe it's kind of sneaking around, getting to have a peek. I think people always love to do that. The feeling of getting to travel is someone’s private space, in their daily life—it gives an exciting feeling.
SHVEKA: How has being Taiwanese living in Europe affected your creation?
SHUEH: I left Taiwan when I was nineteen, so I’ve been a foreigner for most of my life actually. Even when I go back there, I still feel like a stranger, I’m a stranger everywhere. I often don’t know where my creations come from, it’s all the chaos of living in so many different places.
SHVEKA: How do you decide what parts of your own life you want to expose through your fashion?
SHUEH: I’m trying not to decide— I prefer it to come naturally.