Crossing over from the advertising industry to fashion design is the most frequently mentioned in Qianqian Jia’s career. After graduating from university in 2016, Qianqian Jia began her career as an advertising creative in Hangzhou, China. Six years later, she moved to London to learn fashion design at the Royal College of Art, the city where she rekindled her passion for fashion and transformed her identity from observer to creator. In 2025, she was invited to participate in Beijing Fashion Week.
In new collection titled “The Vanishing Appendages,” Qianqian Jia was inspired from French artist Leslie David. Leslie’s illustrations are both meditative and calming, encouraging introspection. In her paintings, flowers represent not only nature elements but also the beauty of blossoming in a dreamlike realm, symbolizing the continuity of life. While her colors and shapes may appear simple, encapsulating their essence in a single word is challenging. She captures a sense of playfulness through flowing light and shadow, warmth and softness, and vibrant embers that are hot and full of hope.
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 photos: The Vanishing Appendages, Phography, 2024 © Qianqian Jia
Photographer Jack Thomson
Designer @mynameis_sisi (Qianqian Jia)
MakeUp / Hair @kaylaeviana
Assistant @genvv
Models/dancers @creebw @zarasands @crumbagency
