More often than not, feng shui is seen as esoteric and outdated, yet Thierry Chow has been making strides in repackaging this millennia-old philosophy for modern millennials. As the daughter of renowned feng shui master Chow Hon Ming, Thierry practically comes from feng shui royalty, yet she is hardly one to adhere to tradition.
Having studied illustration in Canada, today Thierry lives and works in her airy studio loft with illustrator husband Peter. With a sharp eye for colourful fashion, Thierry’s practise brings a decidedly feminine approach to this often male-dominated world. Vogue has picked Thierry’s brain on how you can adjust your wardrobe and spaces to be your best self.
Utility details at Fendi Spring 2019. Photo: Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv
On trends
The one thing I always see is that when the year belongs to a certain element, the fashion trends will also follow that.
The Year of the Pig has a lot to do with the earth element, and the trends definitely reflect this. There’s a big utility trend coming, where we’ll see a lot of tool belts with clutches and fanny packs. There’s a construction worker aspect to it, which has to do with building stuff and working with a lot of the earth element.
The shape of the square belongs to the earth element, so we will also see many trends around this shape. Coinciding with the return of ’80s and ’90s-era fashion, square-toed shoes have made quite a big comeback in brands like Valentino. Fashion from the early ’90s is very fun for me – exaggerated styles like tie-dye and boxy shoulders. People should have as much fun as they want with these trends as they will play out quite strongly the whole year.
The Year of the Pig has a lot to do with the earth element, and the trends definitely reflect this.
Thierry Chow
Earth tones at Chloé Spring 2019. Photo: Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv
On colours
Overall, earthy tones will be quite dominant this year, and a modern hippie style will come into play where the colours will be quite earthy. But that definitely doesn’t mean it should be the only thing, because fashion can be flexible, free and brightly coloured!
On materials
Linen was quite trendy for 2018 and will carry on into 2019. When summer comes, designers will continue to play around with that material. The other thing that we can look at are feathers, which are emerging in accessories such as shoes and purses. Feathers are not as earth-dominant but as they come from birds, they do represent wood, an element which is present this year.
Tie-dye on tie-dye at Prada Spring 2019. Photo: Marcus Tondo / Indigital.tv
On accessories
Oversized hats will be quite trendy this year, as well as utility belts. Because of the resurgence of ’90s-era styles, we can expect to see tie-dye in places like handkerchiefs and bandanas in 2019. In terms of jewellery, we will see sequins and more pearl-coloured accessories come into play, but these won’t be as dominant. The shiny aspect of fashion will be more tame in 2019, so people can focus on more than just wearing silver rings or earrings.
On minerals
The earth element represents all minerals, so any mineral or crystal is going to be very good for 2019, particularly if you want to enhance certain areas of your life. For better friendships and relationships, wear more pink, red and purple crystals. If you want to enhance your career or health, you can pick green or blue minerals.
If you want to put it in your living environment or office, there’s one spot that’s particular good for it: in the west side of your space. That’s going to help enhance your overall energy and is particularly good for relationships.
Energy positive at 3.1 Phillip Lim Spring 2019. Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
On which labels to wear
I usually pick up on brands when they are quite receptive to the energy going on in that year. There’s a few in particular that I would pay attention to in 2019, such as 3.1 Phillip Lim, Chloé, Emilio Pucci, The Row and Alexander McQueen. I think Celine had a pretty unstable start that continued until the end of last year, so I wouldn’t recommend them. They will continue to be quite unstable.
Some brands have on and off years, and some I can see are quite sensitive and to the earth element and are putting out a line of designs that really are on point in the Year of the Pig.
Editor
Gavin YeungCredit
Top image courtesy of Thierry Chow
