API indie designers dominated at Fashion Week this season

Designer Shuting Qiu, whose eponymous brand just had its Paris Fashion Week debut, is a bold, color-loving, maximalist’s best friend. Qiu is originally from China, where she also currently resides, and studied fashion in Belgium at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. According to the designer herself, the Shuting Qiu label seeks to embody “refined femininity, showcasing a modern romantic archetype that is bold, self-reliant, yet inherently delicate.” The brand’s clothing explores femininity in a way that is experimental, bright, and asymmetrical, and their latest collection is no exception.

Shuting Qiu’s romantic and whimsical spring/summer 2025 collection, which is titled The Palace Where Venus Descends, was inspired by the designer’s recent trip to Cyprus, the mythical birthplace of Venus. “Venus is the goddess of love, so I wanted my looks to be more romantic by adding moving elements such as fringes and flowers,” Qiu tells Vogue. The brand’s signature aesthetic includes bright colors and mismatching fabric, but this season’s visual language can also be attributed to Qiu’s collaborator on the collection: Chinese contemporary artist Lu Xinjian, who is known for his use of contrasting colors and abstract lines. Qiu’s commitment to sustainability also shines in this collection through her use of repurposed materials, like sequins and threads recycled from India and China. The designer even used leftover textiles to create smaller pieces meant for children. 

Despite spring/summer 2025 being the brand’s first time on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, Qiu’s no stranger to the global fashion stage. She showed for multiple seasons in Milan, and has a plethora of awards and prizes under her belt—the independent designer was a semifinalist for the LVMH Prize in 2021, as well as a finalist for the H&M Design Awards in 2020 and 2019. With the response to Qiu’s recent debut in Paris, the brand is clearly positioned for even more growth in the coming seasons. 

Keisukeyoshida
Tokyo Fashion Week