Part of the London College of Fashion graduation collection ‘Gaint-baby’, 6 pairs of leather shoes with squidgy padded loops, 2023.
Lui: ‘A shoe collection of fashionable footwear. Each pair corresponds to a giant-baby characteristic. Bright colours and decorative lines, my design language to break up the black and white of the adult world. I hope that I can amplify the cuteness of childishness through my designs and help adults to enjoy the positive side of children’s culture.
I am an only-child under China’s one-child policy. Most of my peers, like me, are also only-children. The whole family dotes on a child, and the over-protection leads to the immaturity of many only-children’s minds in adulthood. If possible, I would like to call us ‘gaint-baby’. What is gain-baby? Literally, gain-baby refers to a huge baby. But in fact it refers to adults who are mentally stuck in the child stage.
As a group of people who don’t want to grow up, gaint-baby’s have their own new outlook on life. They are unwilling to force themselves to be mature and follow the mainstream. They are eager to return to the world of children, enjoy fantasy and try to have fun in life.’
© Lyujie Liu.
