Crossing from advertising into fashion is often cited as the defining pivot in Qianqian Jia’s career. After graduating in 2016, she began as an advertising creative in Hangzhou, crafting visual narratives for brands rather than garments. Six years later, she moved to London to study fashion design at the Royal College of Art — a shift that reignited her long-held fascination with form, texture, and identity. There, Jia evolved from an observer of style to a maker within it. In 2025, her emerging voice was recognised with an invitation to present at Beijing Fashion Week.
In her new collection, The Vanishing Appendages, Qianqian Jia draws inspiration from the French artist Leslie David. David’s work carries a quiet, meditative rhythm — her floral forms drifting between nature and dream, embodying both fragility and renewal. Beneath their apparent simplicity, her compositions pulse with emotional depth: flowing light and shadow, soft warmth, and flashes of vivid colour that feel alive with playfulness and hope. Jia translates this visual tenderness into fashion, transforming David’s painterly calm into tactile form.
In this collection, Qianqian Jia attempted to incorporate wool prints featuring irregularly shaped flowers into suits. However, it’s not exactly a flower; it’s an emotional reflection of what you see – it’s a blossom, a dead branch, lushness, and decay. It’s a collection of everything you think of as a pattern. That’s part of what I’m trying to convey: equality and order, rationality and sensibility, confusion and reflection.
An experiment in identity, materials and perception
In the series “Disappearing Appendages,” Qianqian Jia used materials and structural construction to explore the relationship between clothing and body perception. The suit was made from 240 grams of wool, which served as the main fabric. Using a digital inkjet technique, she created a disembodied print that challenges the conventional authority of formal wear. By reducing the weight of the fabric, she aimed to enhance the seasonality and comfort of the garment while maintaining its silhouette, making it more suitable for everyday wear.
PU material served as a substitute for natural leather, merging structural design with environmental awareness. In dresses and other items, asymmetrical cuts create a shift in the center of visual gravity and redefine the relationship between the wearer and the garment’s structure.
Qianqian Jia used more monolithic cuts along the dividing line to create the garment’s silhouette. This method enhanced the blocky and architectural look of the garments while also minimizing waste from excess cut pieces during production. This approach reflects my commitment to sustainable practices.
This collection is more than just patterns or silhouettes; it embodies a process of self-transformation and validation. As the name implies, the disappearance of the “appendage” is not a loss but a return—a return to the most genuine and honest part of ourselves.
In a world filled with noise and temptation, we often feel pressured by fame, desire, profit, and money to disguise who we truly are. It is only in the quietest moments of the night that we have the chance to look into our hearts, peeling away our defenses layer by layer to reveal our soft and strong, fragile and authentic inner selves. Through this collection, Qianqian Jia hoped to help people understand that true strength does not come from external possessions or influences but originates from the sobriety and sincerity of the heart.
All images: The Vanishing Appendages, Phography, 2024 © Qianqian Jia
Photographer @j_a_c_k_t_h_o_m_s_o_n (Jack Thomson)
Designer @mynameis_sisi (Qianqian Jia)
MUHA @kaylaeviana
Assistant @genvv
Models/dancers @creebw @zarasands @crumbagency
