Temper presents five facts on our most fashion bone tickling brand of the day as featured in Labelhood’s live-stream lineup during Shanghai Cloud Fashion Week AW20. Labeled “CORNERSTONE by Sun Yun”: Check!
Image courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, SS20
Who?
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” (Ps118:22)
Cornerstone is a Hangzhou-based menswear brand aesthetically brick layered from its 2017 foundations by Sun Yun.
Challenging the notion that’s perceived and expected with age, designer Sun has proven otherwise in the menswear game mostly dominated by young players in China — often his juniors by some two decades.
This designer’s story proves to a testament to breaking boundaries as he is, in fact, a trained and acclaimed interior designer and architect. And pastor. This Chinese creator has also been a priest — Ps, explained — for the last ten years of his rather “unusual” career. Unwaveringly boss, Temper says.
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What?
Sun brings an interesting take to menswear by firmly linking the pillars of architecture through innovative materials and marvelous aesthetic codes — hard to not gaze at.
Architecture and clothing in the art of Sunzi both exist to meet the human need for space and security. Sun combines his technical knowledge with his artistic sensibility, weaving together a wholly slash holy new framework for fashion.
Aside from sensibility, sustainability, too, certainly seems to be a key component to Cornerstone’s blueprint, with deconstruction and upcycling traceable throughout its collections.
Image courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, AW19
Image courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, AW19
Image courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, AW19
When?
The renowned architect is no stranger to stepping up his overall design game as he has over the years worked on successful building projects commissioned by big corporate giants, including Alibaba and Yahoo!.
Stepping up to the stage of fashion, then, Sun’s first-ever brand collection presentation took place during Shanghai Fashion Week in April 2017.
It is now full steam ahead for the three-year-old menswear brand, with the captain of the ship working towards setting up (physical) shop inside an independent retail space in the heart of London. ASAP.
Image courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, AW17
Where?
Going into its second time showcasing at Labelhood this AW20 season, Cornerstone undeniably has that Temper savoir-faire that just keeps drawing edgy brick and mortar and e-tailers alike from the Middle Kingdom and abroad.
With notable stockists ranging from IT, MagMode and coveted Californian based avant-garde multi-label retailer H Lorenzo, all recognizing the predominance of embedding a Cornerstone to their structure. #getit #getit #?!
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Why?
The core brand idea here is to use the old to create the new (“Rebirth”) and shaping new garments by utilizing antique Chinese designs and fabrics. Sun’s collections have in the past also not shied away from experimentation and criticism, addressing social issues in China.
Take, for example, the brand’s AW19 “Jù Yīng” (巨婴 in Chinese aka “giant baby syndrome”) collection.
By experimenting with pattern-making inspired by toddlers’ onesies and elderly clothing, the designs hitting the runway during AW19 highlighted cultural infantilism, a phenomenon commonly known in China as, you guessed it, “Jù Yīng” (giant baby syndrome). “Some Chinese citizens and tourists abroad act like infants and it’s part of a normalized identity crisis,” Sun lamented on the topic in one BoF interview.
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When all is said and done, in an industry driven by the Kool-Aid of hype, Cornerstone is the exception as the brand remains intentional, from its inception onwards, on delivering quality. Worship, we do.
Take us to Church:
Instagram: @cornerstonebysunyun
Edited by Elsbeth van Paridon
FEATURED IMAGE: Courtesy of Cornerstone by Sun Yun, AW20. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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His love for young fashion designers is relentless and is committed to share their stories with the world.
Dani enriches Temper with video and visual reports starring the latest in China's fashionable, sustainable and underground scenery. Coming to you live, from the Middle Kingdom.
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- The Labelhood Live Fact Checker: Cornerstone by Sun Yun - March 27, 2020
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