Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/666019
At 30 years old, Tianzhou Chen, the fashion-designer-turned-artist, has already staged a solo show at the Palais de Tokyo and Shanghai Fashion Week. Born in Beijing, Chen attended Central Saint Martins College in London before skyrocketing onto the international art scene with his viral videos and dance-heavy performances. Often riffing on China's subversive youth culture, Chen's pieces tend to be mash-ups of anything from body paint and poodles to South Park and taxidermy. His most recent project with Gucci, #GucciGram Tian, called on the artist's two talents. "I started in fashion and then I was sort of anti-fashion. This collaboration brought back a bit of that early energy in me," says Chen. Curated by Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele, the project asked artists to reference the house's Tian print. Chen opted to dream up characters and costumes of his own—a jumble of hip-hop savvy streetwear and traditional Chinese Opera attire—and use them for a performance at Berlin's iconic nightclub Berghain. The photographs of that evening serve as the only relics from Chen's ephemeral collaboration. gucci.com 25 COURTESY OF GUCCI culturedmag.com 91