Working at warp speed, PH5’s Wei Lin and Zoe Champion are already ready to ring in 2025. With resort being a “transitional season, there’s always this feeling of wanting that piece that is very New Year, new me, new excitement,” said Champion, who built the collection around the snake, which represents the coming year in the Chinese Zodiac. “In almost all cultures,” she mused, the snake is a “sort of beacon for renewal because it sheds its skin and it sort of moves in this circular motion.” It certainly seems to have been a good omen for the brand; a tight focus on a single theme resulted in an exciting collection with a strong, unified message. Looking at the selection—the strappy backs and the slimming curving color gradients, it’s not a leap to imagine PH5 moving into swimwear and further into activewear. Imagine walking into a gym and seeing scalloped edges and cotton candy colors instead of a sea of black Lycra.
In any case, holiday is the main focus for resort. Champion designed the brand’s first long dress, and there are looks created using a sequined yarn. Individual spangles swing like wind chimes from the undulating hems of other party-ready pieces. The palette, which could have been borrowed from bottles at a poolside cocktail bar, is balanced with black. PH5’s ingenious trompe jean set has gotten a reptilian makeover. A different, 3D scale is used for a slightly oversized polo that some might be able to pull off as a very mini dress. Building on that trick-the-eye technique is a twisted corset top.
Technology is the bedrock of this brand and in some cases the snaky patterns hewed close to glitch core. Look 21 actually does the work; as Lin explained, it’s UV reactive in the sun, so the white part of the body of the dress will turn pink. The best way to accessorize that one might be with a cold glass of rosé.