Baisen
Zhou

‘This is our time, a time of myth – we are all the same,’ is the statement driving Baisen Zhou’s final collection, as written by Donna Haraway in A Cyborg Manifesto. The Chinese knitwear student combines different knits to represent the sex symbol and virtual clientele Cyborg Fatima, who is a hybrid of an object, an animal, a human and a machine.

He looks towards Japanese animation and sci-fi films and their costumes for fabric choices, explaining that the costumes in Evangelion and Alien contain the ‘perfect combination of body and material.’ With hunting a particular influence on Zhou’s work, he references the winter Biathlon and the ‘combination of modular cuttings and natural textures,’ of the uniform, also looking at the science form and how he can support it using these techniques.

Being at Central Saint Martins has taught the virtual-obsessed student to ‘have a comprehensive visual identity,’ by learning to use fonts, photography, CGI and music to brand himself. This is something Zhou plans to continue learning post-graduation, striving to work at a knitwear brand and extend his knowledge of virtual clothing techniques.

Mollie Marshall, BA Fashion Journalism
@mistressmolliee