“Renewing traditional crafts”: Chinese-Australian label Chris Ran Lin is inspired by experimental knitwear
WORDS BY MAGGIE ZHOU
“The way I create my designs is like working in a lab, but with yarns, fabric and machines.”
For Chris Ran Lin, his eponymous label was never meant to be a label. He was only wanting to “explore concepts and materials [through] fashion projects” but suddenly found himself fulfilling private orders. The label officially started in 2015 and in the eight years since, Chris has released numerous menswear and womenswear collections.
Though the label has gone through various iterations, it becomes clear what holds them all together: Chris’ dedication to experimenting with silhouettes and textures. “I think what I want to achieve from my projects [is] about [the] possible and impossible,” he says.
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Infused with his Chinese culture and creative genes, Chris prides himself on his ability to weave traditional and contemporary styles together. Here, he takes us through his label’s journey so far.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
Born in Guangdong, China, [I] grew up surrounded by fashion. My mother was a dressmaker and my grandmother had expertise in the artistry of traditional Chinese craft. Aged 18, I immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where I undertook RMIT’s [Bachelor of] Fashion Design in 2011, and completed [a Master of] Fashion Design in 2015.
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How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
[In] the beginning, I wasn’t starting the label as a label. My plan was [to] try to explore concepts and materials in fashion projects but I started to have private orders after the first project launched. [I] continue[d] doing that for three years and work[ed] for [an]other company at the same time. In 2015, I finished my [master’s] at RMIT. I decided to do it as a label, [and I was] nominated for the International Woolmark Prize. This is how I started.
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It was a long process to learn about the business of [starting a] label. Sourcing materials [was] particularly challenging, [especially for] knitwear. [It’s] very difficult to look for yarn and manufacturing in Australia, therefore I had to make all knit samples myself and [used] yarns based on what I found in Australia.
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time?
Each project [and] collection start[ed] with a concept or technique. I always try to challenge the limit of a technique in my design. The way I create my designs [is] like working in a lab, but with yarns, fabric and machines. I think what I want to achieve from my projects [is] about [the] possible and impossible.
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How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
I think the message I would like to communicate through my label is about slow fashion and buy[ing] less [and] buy[ing] better. My design practice is very much renewing traditional craft[s] and techniques, [and] apply[ing them to] contemporary fashion. Production and sampling waste of material is [a] major problem in fashion. I work closely with manufacturers to minim[ise] the waste of materials during all parts of [the] process in design.
What do you wish you had known when you started?
I think the business knowledge of how to run a label. That took me some time to pick up.
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What about the Australian fashion scene needs to change?
I don’t think [it] need[s] any change, everyone is individual and that is the exciting part of [the] fashion scene in Australia.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
Online and at St Collins Lane, Melbourne.
Check out Chris Ran Lin’s collections here.
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