Spring/Summer 2025 - Master

Mei Lanfang, a master of Peking Opera, the leader of the “Four Dan” actresses, and the king of the theatrical world…

With his unique talents and innovative spirit, he led Peking Opera to transcend cultural and national boundaries, establishing himself as a legendary figure of his era. The "Mei School" of art he founded is regarded as a representative of the Eastern theatrical performance system and is one of the three major performance systems in world theater.

Throughout his life, Mr. Mei Lanfang portrayed over 180 female characters, transforming on stage into a beauty that transcended gender and societal norms. Off stage, he was a handsome and elegant man; on stage, he was a supremely beautiful woman. He was both the creator of beauty and its embodiment.

The SEAN SUEN 2025 Spring/Summer collection takes inspiration from Mei Lanfang’s "dual identities," drawing from his daily attire, diplomatic outfits, and theatrical costumes. It uses the aesthetic concept of "creating images to convey meaning" and the philosophical idea of "the interplay of reality and illusion" from Peking Opera. The collection incorporates classic elements from Peking Opera costumes, such as cloud collars, flowing sleeves, jade belts, silk balls, and tassels, refining and artistically processing them. These elements are then integrated into traditional Chinese garments like the buttoned mandarin jacket, long gown, Zhongshan suit, and Western-style men's wear and formal attire that Mr. Mei favored, paying tribute to his brilliant life that radiated both humanity and artistry.

The beauty of the East, the work of a great master, is also inherited. Mr. Mei Lanfang, deeply rooted in traditional theater, created new dramas and then adapted them into modern fashion inspired by classical culture. Throughout his lifelong pursuit of aesthetics, he keenly observed the changing needs of the times, striving to achieve the external beauty that embodies the profound essence of the East. This is an all-encompassing, three-dimensional beauty.

Sean Suen approaches the "Mei School" art with the hope of allowing the wearers of this collection to jointly experience, contemplate, and witness the infinite possibilities between classical beauty and contemporary needs. Starting from the color, structure, and texture of Peking Opera costumes: extracting traditional colors like red, yellow, and green that have strong stage appeal and contrasting them with the neutral colors black, white, and gray often used in modern styles; deconstructing and reassembling the multi-layered makeup of opera and contemporary decorative elements; combining the highly oriental textures of silks and brocades commonly used in opera costumes with the tailoring of modern fashion. This exploration seeks to use the language of clothing to remove the many constraints on classical beauty under different eras' demands, breaking the stereotype of a single expression of contemporary Eastern aesthetics. 

"A great master, when chosen by the times, is already exquisite in every aspect." - "Century Masters: Mei Lanfang"