For its third year, Taipei Fashion Week (TPEFW) featured 13 brands, 6 sustainable labels, as well as student designers on its runway for Fall/Winter 2021. A total of 16 physical shows ran from March 10 to 15 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. 

TPEFW has been named this season as the only fashion week event in the world currently able to present safely to a full audience of 8,000 attendees during the 6-day event, according to a source at Condé Nast Taiwan. This is a direct result from its successful response to the pandemic, as The New York Times reported last week that Taiwan is thriving as a ‘bubble of normality’ due to the island’s success in keeping Covid-19 infection numbers extremely low.

Taipei Fashion Week has once again celebrated its brilliant designers. Here are the top F/W 2021 collections from the event that have wowed us:

1.Isabelle Wen

A leading fashion designer in Taiwan, Isabelle Wen is known for her couture creations that are elegantly and unapologetically feminine. Since establishing her own label in 1976, Wen has been known for her viewpoint of global romanticism, dreamy silhouettes, and glamour tempered with unexpected quirk.

For her F/W 2021 collection for Taipei Fashion Week titled “Roman Roland”, Isabelle highlighted crystal-like materials, natural silk and linen in a mix of classic, modern and sophisticated design.

2.Shiatzy Chen

Dubbed as the ‘Chanel of Taiwan’, creative director Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia of Shiatzy Chen has once again proven why she is one of top 25 most influential Chinese designers in the global fashion industry through her latest showcase. Her basis of inspiration for her F/W 2021 collection is “time”, with focus on some power-dressing concepts popular around the ’70s. She modernized her designs by interpreting them with some gender-neutral elements, like pants and pencil skirts in clean-cut styles. 

Shiatzy Chen, established in 1978, has found critical acclaim thanks to a global approach to fashion: fabrics sourced in Milan, patterns made in the French capital, and embroideries with eastern and western traditions. These romantic embroideries in the recent show have yet again cemented her brand aesthetic globally. 

3.Bob Jian

Bob Jian has put the spotlight on temple fairs in Taiwan as his inspiration, noting that they have always been a part of Taiwanese folk art, and his childhood. His collection showcased wildly colorful fashion pieces, seemingly modernizing Oriental extravagance. 

The designer even featured light artist LUXYBOYZ, who created a 3-meter high live action robot with visual LED lights.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture (MOC), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and Ministry of Education (MOE), along with the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF), all joined forces to organize Taipei Fashion Week F/W21.