Covid-19 and the subsequent global lockdown has accelerated digitisation exponentially. We live in this digital realm, where the lines between home and work are blurred. More than ever people are engaging with the virtual world for employment, entertainment and escapism.
This increasingly digital-first world is the starting point of the hyperreal next collection of Fanny de Ruyter which consists of virtual textures, optical illusions, digital skin and graphic patterns. The bright colours are digitally inspired and offers a sense of escapism that both stand out on-screen and in real life. The designer uses digital printing on recycled fabrics and makes limited season less collections to be as exclusive and sustainable as possible.
Like the sustainable aspect, feminism is a part that comes back in every collection. Fanny de Ruyter draws inspiration from different groups of women worldwide. The designer uses elements of these women in the shapes and prints of the collection as an ode to their beauty and strength. In her next collection, unmarried Chinese women over 27 are brought to the fore. Since the outbreak of covid-19 Chinese people face worldwide discrimination more than ever but also within the Chinese culture unmarried women over a certain age are often controlled by the social critique of public opinion.
Despite their success at work, unmarried professional Chinese women of 27 years old and older are subject to constant pressure to find a husband. These women are often labelled as ‘leftover women’. The more educated a Chinese woman becomes, the more difficult it is for her to find a life partner. Due to its one-child policy, China today has 30 million more men than women of marriageable age. Despite the fact that there are more men than women in China, the result of a preference for boys increased by the one-child policy, it is the women who are considered ‘leftover’ rather than the men because of women’s high education.
As a consequence of the high social gap in China the task to find a husband shouldn’t be that difficult you might think, but still finding Mr Right is riddled with anxiety. In Chinese culture, respecting your parents is the most important quality. Not getting married is the biggest sign of disrespect. So single women around 27 treading this delicate balance of being dutiful daughters but also carving out lives that are more in tune with their own expectations and their own potential. Chinese women today are more educated than ever before and they are increasingly resisting marriage.
In short, the next collection of Fanny de Ruyter is an ode to the unmarried women after the age of 27 in Chinese culture, also known as ‘leftover women’, mixed with the fast digitization worldwide since the outbreak of covid-19. Two worlds that seem to have nothing in common, yet both long for escapism. Although the future is still very uncertain, the young label of Fanny de Ruyter seeks out the beauty in this rapidly changing world.