Fashion Designer Kim Shui Talks Her Spring 2023 Collection

For Kim Shui, this season's show was all about doubling down on what it means to be a Kim Shui girl: "She's confident. She's strong. And she's sexy, in her own interpretation of the word."

The Spring 2023 collection was unveiled in a corridor of Grand Central Station on Monday night to an overfilled, eager audience. Speaking with InStyle, Shui says the clothes were inspired by the community that wears them. "Our brand was co-created on the Internet. All these different people were reposting our clothing, and that's how my growth started generating," Shui says. "It's an ode to them."

Shui notes that the accessibility of such a public and busy setting was part of the appeal when choosing the show's location — the backstage area, where models lined up, was actually an open hall, visible to commuters and people passing by. Spring 2023 was also the designer's biggest show to date, featuring 40 looks, but Shui says she didn't feel nervous. Instead, she was ready to connect all the moving parts of the show and present these new creations to the world.

After working as a pattern cutter for other small New York-based brands, Shui launched her own brand in 2016. Since then, her designs have been seen on everyone from Wendy Williams and Lizzo to Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid. There is not a one-size fits all mentality when it comes to the people wearing her brand, and that is Shui's favorite part. "What's most special about the brand is that we're bringing all sorts of different women together with the clothes."

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A big component of Shui's work is her collaging of different patterns and textures together, which is representative of her multicultural upbringing. As an Asian-American who was raised in Italy, Shui says it was during that time abroad that she first became interested in fashion, and when she first reckoned with the fact that she stood out.

"We grew up in the suburbs of Italy and we were the only Asian family. There was no way I was going to look the same as anyone else," she says, adding that she quickly embraced it through fashion. "I remember my first day of school and picking between two outfits. It was either this all-black outfit that looked similar to everybody else or it was this full lilac jumpsuit with all these crazy beading things that I had." She chose the jumpsuit and hasn't looked back.

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Shui is best when she is mixing different elements, whether it be patterns, textures, or even styles, and that remains evident in this collection as well. While the cutouts, crop tops, and sheer details were reminiscent of the Internet, the designer also experimented with silhouettes of female warriors.

"There are stories of these four ancient beauties of China and each one of them had a strength they were known for. I wanted that story to be shown through the clothing. And then we see quite a few mythical references and traditional Chinese motifs that I play with and repeat in several different ways," she tells us.

Towards the end of the show, as models slowly and seriously marched down the halls of Grand Central, a dress featuring a custom print of crowdsourced pixels appeared, prompting attendees to lift their phones to capture it. It was no doubt a highlight of the collection, and stunning to look at — especially for the front row, which included celebrities like Saucy Santana, Lauren Jauregui, Fousheé, James Charles, and Devin Halbal. WNBA player Isabelle Harrison also closed out Kim Shui's show wearing a stunning purple train.

When it comes to designing, Shui has always felt that "there is no plan B, there's just plan A and this is what I'm going to do." For Spring 2023, she says she had hoped to create a fantasy, and there's no doubt her eager and supportive fanbase will approve of these unique designs. As for what's next? "I want to make a really amazing bag. So, I'm trying that."