Find an escape from the inner cages. Anastasia wandering in the city, photographed by Marco Giuliano and styled by Anca Macavei with daring pieces by Chinese brand Erinrae.
Tell us a bit about you, your background. What made you start your brand?
I am Erin, the brand manager of ERINRAE. I have been working in the industry of Chinese clothing for 20 years and have experienced the ups and downs of the market and the changes of my career during these 20 years. In 2017, together Pierre Diringer, the French senior artistic director we decided to found ERINRAE. I wanted to create a very tonal business brand in China, a simple but elegant, sexy and decent style of life. This is what we want to bring to all our consumers.
How did you come up with the name of your brand? What does ERINRAE stand for?
The brand name is a 2-part composition. ERIN here represents a woman’s true self, with simplicity, romance and an innate imagination of all the beauty of the world. I hope that every “she” is unique and every “she” is ERIN. RAE stands for Reflection And Evolution, which symbolises the wisdom of every woman and the other side of a woman’s potential, which is to keep reflecting in the process of life and evolving again after each reflection, creating a life value and wisdom that belongs to her from her life.
Can you share with us an insight into your creative design process?
For creative design, I always start from the consumer group. Every season, besides referring to the global trend, I also imagine what kind of story ER girls will tell in this season. 2021 is the first year of the “Big Girl Era” in China, and the awakening of women’s consciousness. “They pursue the freedom of choice, are independent but eager to express themselves. These attitudes and strengths are the source of my creativity, and then combined with understated luxury design elements to create the brand feeling of ER’s personality and style. My creative process is a low-key and cool romance, and rock and roll is the key word for everything.
What’s the story and inspirations behind the collection showcased here in our photographs?
The theme of this season’s shoot is a modern-day heroine, a brave, battle-hardened warrior woman who comes to grips with the new post-epidemic era, the “post-apocalyptic” world. The story behind the collection comes from the movie “Atomic Blonde”, a 2017 film about the dangerous mission of British MI6 agent “Lorraine” in East Berlin in full swing during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. As a result, this season we wanted to preserve the beauty of the film and the image of a modern heroine 2.0, showing the femininity of the 80’s and the charm of the agent within the current trend towards virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
How would you describe the brand’s aesthetic?
The core is rock aesthetics, where rock is not only a kind of music, but we believe that rock is an aesthetic form. Strength and spontaneity” and “fortitude and tenderness” are two seemingly opposing sides of the perfect blend. Through rock and roll, consumers can feel their own life and build a revolutionary new romanticism.
How is your upbringing in China reflected into your work?
I was born in China in the 80’s, in the life spanning from the 80’s to the present, facing the unknown future, I always uphold a simple heart, even in the face of many setbacks and failures in life, was always determined to win, and it is with an innate sense of beauty and continuous exploration in life, found that a woman’s dress changes to bring the impact of life. I realised that clothing is not only the external form of beauty, but it also projects the inner needs, a combination of beauty and wisdom that reflects one’s own connotation and temperament from the inside out and shows confidence. This also influenced me to choose to join the beautiful industry of clothing.
Credits:
Photography: Marco Giuliano / @marcogiulianoph
Styling: Anca Macavei / @ancamacavei
Fashion: Erinrae / @erinrae_official
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell & Kurt Geiger
Editorial Assistant: Xin Yu / @xinyuxyzz
Soundtrack: Nihilore – Laconic
Model: Anastasia at Next Models / @sashabarss @nextmodelsmilan
Marie Sauvage / Story of the eye