Li-Ning, a Chinese sports pioneer, made a triumphant return to Paris Men’s Fashion Week, enthralling the audience with a dynamic and multi-dimensional experience. The event featured a variety of artistic aspects, such as video installations, a live kung fu dance performance, and a spectacular Spring Summer 2024 runway show. The finale featured American artist Offset, dressed in Li-Ning attire, performing his popular song “Ric Flair Drip.” This was the brand’s first appearance at the Centre Pompidou in Paris since January 2020. The collection “My-Verse,” was named after an ancient Chinese adage emphasizing individualism and personal space. The saying, which translates to “I have my own space, I have my own world,” captures the essence of “My-Verse.” It reflects the vast and limitless Li-Ning universe, which includes a wide range of characters, sports, aesthetics, genres, and global youth cultures. Li-Ning created a dynamic four-part show by bringing together a broad mix of creatives from many disciplines to reflect the boundless possibilities within his ever-evolving world.
SPRING SUMMER 2024 COLLECTIONS
The models passed through a succession of doorways depicting diverse styles ranging from ancient to modern to industrial. Each door was a portal into a distinct Li-Ning universe with its own aesthetic. Some doors were inspired by classic Chinese octagonal and vase shapes, while the húlu door was inspired by a Chinese plant that symbolizes luck. The subject of the event was created in partnership with Chinese artist Oscar Wang, who is known for his works that blur the barriers between physical and digital art.
The Li-Ning Spring Summer 2024 collection embodies the brand’s tradition of bold innovation and cutting-edge athletic design. It looks at imagined archetypes of the Li-Ning man and woman, including skaters, gamers, athletes, and cool kids, all through a nostalgic lens. The collection features progressive designs, including pieces inspired by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu collaborations. The brand also teased an impending exclusive collaboration with Los Angeles-based artist Steven Harrington, known for his psychedelic-pop aesthetic. Select pieces from “Newtro,” a renowned archival collection reinvented for the present, were also included in the collection, featuring technical jackets, shirts, dresses, and shorts with contrasting cut-outs for both genders.
Men’s collection has a retro look with Bruce Lee references. Bright nylon raincoats added a splash of color to the presentation, while puckered knitwear like bell bottoms, jumpers, and women’s skirts referenced raver fashion from the 2000s. The collection included casual, slouchy separates in contrasting optical designs and bright yellow and orange hues. With large tactical patch pockets and tonal zippers, the gray sweat suit was elevated to new heights of comfortable style. Layered, constructed hoodies and sweatpants imagine a fashionable future for athletics. Through all-over printed jackets, shirts, and pants exhibiting a mosaic of nighttime Beijing and Hong Kong cityscapes, an elevated skate vision evolves. Transparent white suits were worn with shorts and matched with contrasting black separates to highlight Li-Ning‘s revolutionary fabric creation.
The women’s collection evolves and elevates the modern urban nomad aesthetic, with puckered clothing in grass green and orange hues. Among the striking pieces were winter white cargo pants with giant zip pockets, easy-wearing hoodie-dresses with cinched waists, and dramatic calf-grazing dress shirts in cityscape designs. Furthermore, the collection was inspired by one of the biggest Chinese archaeology discoveries of the twentieth century, the ancient Han Dynasty Shu brocade armguard discovered in 1995 at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. This theme generated a collection of star-print clothing and accessories.
The brand demonstrates its devotion to bold design and exceptional technical manufacture in the footwear field. Inspired by the Metaverse, the Titan Flow inflatable shoes has a basic and streamlined design that diverges from standard footwear architecture. A sophisticated, motor-driven adjustable inflatable wrapping system and a full-length foam midsole were included in these shoes. The Kungfu Yang is another revolutionary design, a sleek and minimalist sneaker that combines the rounded shape of traditional martial arts shoes with a hyper-modern “waved” midsole. The Feidian CRCracer is a reinterpretation of Li-Ning‘s flagship running shoe, the Feidian ULTRA, with a more streamlined style and trendy accents while maintaining the original’s unique full-palm BOOM technology. With its streamlined body and exaggerated sole inspired by the Tree of Life, the Dilu CRC trail runner, a blend of avant-garde and retro components, stretches the frontiers of Gorpcore. Finally, the classic MaryJane has been boldly updated for the twenty-first century. The vintage-feeling shoe, which is available for both men and women, was presented in yellow and beige suede, with athletic-shoe elements that boost its adaptability and comfort.
Discover every look from the Li-Ning Spring Summer 2024 collection in the gallery below:
