Courtney Zheng likes to work to music. This time her playlist highlighted her shift in mood, from last season’s alt-indie vibe to this season’s collection rooted in Berlin techno, rock and roll and 90s trip hop. “It’s dark, it’s sexy, it’s glamorous - but also undone,” Zheng told us backstage before the show. With Madonna, Massive Attack, Grace Jones on repeat, Zheng crafted her Resort 2027 collection in four weeks. She works fast. Out of her studio in Guangzhou, China, she produced 70 samples before narrowing the collection down.

The brand’s debut show, inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, also marked Zheng’s first time showcasing unisex pieces. Who is the “CZ customer”, as she refers to her cult following? “They’re well-travelled, well-read, cultured, musical, artistic.” This season, that customer will be wearing Penny Lane-adjacent long pony hair-trimmed black coats, slinky transparent polka-dotted halter neck dresses, faded black utility denim, and teeny fine silk shorts and shirts. “There are so many challenges, and I think you just need to have the grit and the resilience to keep going,” she says. “I only got back [from China] last week, and the samples only got flown in two days ago.” Grit and resilience - and great skill.

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