Iceberg, a Gilmar Group house brand, will begin launching Breaking the Ice – Iceberg by Yi Zhou in late June. A unique and special capsule collection designed by Yi Zhou, it’s an exquisitely Italian project under the creative direction of this young and talented Chinese artist.
The idea came from Yi Zhou’s rewarding encounter with Paolo Gerani, Artistic Director of the Iceberg brand. Basically, the Chinese artist would lend her talents to Made in Italy quality, craftsmanship and know-how, while China would become an outstanding example of creative design and no longer mere world capital of low-cost manufacturing.
Yi Zhou decided to have Iceberg produce clothes and accessories that will draw on her eccentric personal aesthetic and on her childhood experience of living in Italy, where she acquired a deep appreciation for Italian elegance and style.
Ultimately, Breaking the Ice – Iceberg by Yi Zhou will consist of men’s and women’s sportswear items that reflect in full the DNA of a brand famous across the globe for having given new definition to the genre.
The world premiere of this innovative iconic Iceberg collection by Yi Zhou will take place in July 2013 during a major multimedia event in Hong Kong.
Gilmar CEO/Artistic Director Paolo Gerani explains: “Yi Zhou is a woman with European sensibilities and a wonderfully fresh, effervescent sense of aesthetics. We set this project in motion as a way of inverting the current tendency to see the Chinese mainland solely as an enormous manufacturing center. China has other greater and richer potential, putting pure intelligence and sense of style to use in the design and development of Italian made products. It’s proof that artistic inspiration can be nationally neutral and that the industrial base in Italy in the clothing & textile sector can afford to speak any creative language, bring to life – in premium form – whatever type of fashion vision.”
Yi Zhou says: “As a Chinese artist I am very happy and honored to have been chosen to create a capsule collection for an Italian luxury brand. The project represents a whole new experience for me in that I am a multimedia artist by training and profession. Now the challenge is to stretch my abilities in the role of fashion designer. This is the first time that a Chinese finds herself in the position of ideating a complete collection, from clothes to matching accessories, all the way to the launch event/art installation and the relative window displays in all Iceberg stores. A 360° project, it’s a real opportunity for me and for Chinese artists of the new generation.”