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

Jan 8 , 2024

Having launched his eponymous knitwear label during the pandemic, Chet Lo’s durian-inspired tie-up with Charles & Keith marks the designer’s first foray into accessories. Photos: Handout

When collaborations in fashion are a dime a dozen, only the most organic ones manage to strike gold. “I live on TikTok,” laughs Chet Lo, the inimitable Asian-American designer based out of London, as he sits down to talk about his new Gen Z-esque collection with accessories giant Charles & Keith – and what inspired it.

Designer Chet Lo with American actress and TV personality Lisa Rinna at the Fashion Awards in London, in December 2023. Rinna wears a custom Chet Lo spiked hooded gown and the Chet Lo x Charles & Keith patent spike-heel slingback wedges

Hitting the sweet spot between trendy and quirky, Lo’s collection of headbands, purses and shoes for Charles & Keith draws on the signature spike designs that first caught the attention of young fashionistas everywhere when he launched his eponymous brand during the pandemic. “It was all inspired by the durian, which I hate,” Lo smiles. “But inherently, it’s such an Asian fruit. My mum loves it. I hate the stink of it, but I think it is culturally so important.”

Chet Lo’s signature spike designs, inspired by the durian fruit, are back – this time applied to headbands, among other accessories

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.”

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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.

Heels from the Charles & Keith collection feature spikes as their central design element

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.”

Chet Lo muse Leigh Anne Pinnock of British girl group Little Mix models the Chet Lo x Charles & Keith spike textured metallic-handle bag in red

This also isn’t Lo’s first rodeo with Charles & Keith – the brand provided the accessories for the designer’s shows at London Fashion Week in previous seasons – but Lo is excited to show off a different side of his signature style by drawing on the massive retailer’s wealth of consumer knowledge. While he acknowledges that the two brands could not be more different – one small and independent, the other present around the world – he recognises the privilege of being an Asian-American designer working with a proudly Asian brand.

A handbag and charm from Chet Lo x Charles & Keith’s spring 2024 collection

“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 learned so much about being customer focused – to actually create products that will suit a lot of people, that can infiltrate a lot of different wardrobes. Like the ballet flats. I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ They were like, ‘These are the things that people are wearing.’”

A popular shoe type among Charles & Keith customers, ballet flats also make an appearance in the collection

“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.”

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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.

Fashion

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