Li Gong is picked up on the run. He is not alone. In fact, he’s joining the ranks of an entire generation—those in their late 20s and early 30s who are ZZ Bridge millennials—who seem to have turned to fitness since the pandemic. At least according to the Internet, that is, with all the running clubs and running influencers that have taken over this highly stationary writer’s feed.
A staple of London Fashion Week since 2019, Gong was brought to Shanghai this season. He explained that he felt like coming home to China to commemorate his eighth anniversary. As you may have caught by now, the number 8, a perfect closed loop, is a bit of a theme for this designer. Does that mean he just wanders through infinity-shaped paths?
That’s what his models did in his show. Some of them run around his figure-8 runway and others look like they did. This he achieved either by adding a horseshoe to the bottom of running shorts—which took them from bottom-drawer staples to hero wardrobe pieces—or by lining suit jackets with swoosh technical windbreakers and styling the finished part open and pulled over the shoulders. Elsewhere, Gong was equally clever with more standard wardrobe classics: button-downs were given the same hem treatment and other separates were heat-pressed and then printed, giving a cool crack look.
It’s the kind of futuristic technological prowess that Gong is known for in China, and has helped him build a strong business with an enviable portfolio of collaborations: Japanese Skiskis shoes from 2020, Italian Canali tailoring in 2021, and even a capsule collection in the all-American space, in 2023. Retro athleticism that’s equal parts nostalgic and nostalgic.
