Chet Lo on his durian-inspired collab with Charles & Keith: the Asian-American designer and Singaporean brand’s Gen Z, TikTok-friendly spring 2024 accessories collection follows their LFW tie-up
As a designer who specialises in knitwear, Lo’s latest tie-up with Charles & Keith marks his first go at creating accessories. But the challenge of it all is exactly what excites him. “That’s why I wanted to touch on durian with our knits and textiles,” says Lo, who was initially drawn to the fruit as inspiration thanks to its complicated texture. “It’s technically really difficult. And I loved figuring out the mechanics behind it. It was very interesting, and it felt kind of futuristic at the same time.”
Lo likens his spikes to armour, which appears one way on the outside but completely differently on the inside. This cheeky duality seems key to both his ethos as a designer and his exuberant personality. “I have seen spikes every single day of my life for four years,” he adds wryly.
Far from scrambling for other ideas to keep his audiences interested, Lo isn’t worried about being pigeonholed. “If it helps you get your foot through the door, that’s fine, right?” he says. As Lo’s collaboration with Charles & Keith shows, remixing and recycling the same design element can still preserve the element of surprise. “I have a lot more to offer,” he says. “We introduce new techniques and new ideas every season, and then let the spikes be their own thing.”
“They work on a much larger scale, which I was very envious of,” Lo says. “Everything was so quick, and you have to plan everything perfectly. There’s no room for indecisiveness,” he adds.
“I think they have such a stronghold in the East,” Lo says of the greater exposure he gets working with Charles & Keith. He points to their presence on Chinese social media platforms as an example. “I’m Westernised. I only know how to use Instagram and TikTok. … So I think that’s why I just am not known in Asia. And that’s why Charles & Keith is so nice, because they actually are able to help introduce me a little bit as well.”
Hearing Lo describe his design process, it’s hard to imagine this new collaboration not going viral, but when asked about the pressures of being a designer in the social media age, he looks unfazed. “For me, I try not to think, ‘Oh my God, let’s try to make this into this moment,’” he says. “I’m always trying to think artistically, just because I know if you put too much expectation on things, if you want something to be viral, it’s probably not going to go viral.”
Instead, Lo says he remains committed to making what he loves and would want to wear himself – then waiting and seeing what happens. “I don’t know what the freak I’m doing!” he grins. Maybe life is more fun that way.
The Charles & Keith x Chet Lo collection will be out online and in stores worldwide starting January 23.
- A quirky collection of headbands, handbags and shoes by Chet Lo for Charles & Keith reinterprets the designer’s signature durian-inspired spike motif, which first drew attention during the pandemic
- The Asian-American designer enjoyed working on a larger scale and gaining customer insights from the Singaporean fashion house, following a previous collaboration for London Fashion Week