Biography
Designers Qiaoran Huang and Joshua Hupper founded BABYGHOST in downtown Manhattan in 2010. Qiaoran graduated from Donghua University and later went to the US to study at Parsons. She interned for Diane Von Furstenberg and later work for Nathan Jenden. Joshua also interned for Dian Von Furstenberg before working for Thakoon and Nathan Jenden. The designers now divide their time between China and New York City.
BABYGHOST, an emerging design talent, reaches an influential fashion audience with ever increasing press support, as well as a loyal global fan base including influential models such as Xiao Wen Ju, Liu Wen, and Sui He. Following an important year in 2014, with a collection review on style.com, the brand also held a successful presentation debut over New York Fashion Week Fall 2015 at Pop14 Studios, with an attendance of 140 people consisting of top editors, bloggers, and buyers.
Collections
Stores
Beijing
4th Fl., 110 Xidan N St, Xicheng District
北京西城区单北大街 110 号，四楼
Beijing
NLG-09a, B1 Sanlitun Village North, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
北京市朝阳区三里屯路三里屯 VILLAGE 北区 NLG-09a
Beijing
Shop 102, Bldg 2, Central Park, 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
北京市朝阳区朝外大街 6 号新城国际 2 号楼 102 商铺
Shanghai
184 Fumin Lu, Jingan District
上海市静安区富民路 184 号
Media
Qiaoran Huang and Joshua Hupper, the design duo behind Babyghost, presented a hauntingly romantic spring collection. They were inspired by a Halston documentary, a poem about death from the 1940s and classic American retail chains such as Gap and J. Crew — an odd combination to say the least.
So how did they weave together these disparate elements? For starters, the ode to Halston was immediately apparent in the fabrics, which included jersey burnout and touches of gold on dresses and skirts. The classic American retail chains translated to oversize tees, a cropped trench and chunky cardigans. And the death poem? Lines from it were printed throughout the collection on everything from T-shirts to a maxiskirt. A bit creepy, yes, but the poem states that death is a friend — giving a dark, twisted romance to the collection.
They may have 10 seasons under their belt, but this was the first time Qiaoran Huang and Josh Hupper held a formal presentation for their Babyghost collection. According to Hupper, the duo were inspired by Elizabeth Home, an 18th-century countess nicknamed “the queen of hell,” and her London home, which even today has the one of the city’s finest interiors. They also looked to hotel decor around the world.
The designers played with rug patterns and wallpaper motifs, but in a modern and streetwear-savvy way. An embroidered tapestry skirt was paired with a chunky cable-knit sweater, a lace gown was worn over a floral garden-print slip, and a camo-lacquered bomber jacket was paired with a silk chiffon skirt — a bit of grit meets glamour. One look was even inspired by the carpet from “The Shining,” its zippers dangling with keys, while other coats had the zipper hardware as well as pockets embroidered with hotel room numbers.
On a flight not long ago, Babyghost designers Joshua Hupper and Qiaoran Huang, seated separately, both watched Ultrasuede. The Halston documentary set their minds to the idea of making a Spring collection in homage to the great man. Still, Hupper says the two were fully aware of their potential to get overzealous, so rather than going full-throttle Studio 54, this season they asked themselves: “What if we were trying to do this Halston collection for the Gap?”
That idea didn’t necessarily come through so much in the final product (Babyghost’s clothes have plainly too much of a point of view and too much idiosyncrasy to channel Gap in any palpable way), but it seemed to serve them well.
Despite the season, this was a deliciously Goth-y lineup, light in feel if not in reference. The duo was inspired by “Death,” Clarence E. Flynn’s poem personifying the Big Sleep as a friendly force (“Why do you fear me?” it begins. “I am your friend”). So much so, in fact, that it came stitched in its entirety, along with an elegiac-looking depiction of Death on sheer tops and frocks. Most beautiful of all was on the transparent front panel of a twill skirt; the undersides of its seams came dappled with gold lamé spots in a nod to Halston. The designers resisted other direct ’70s references in favor of that and the transparent confetti-filled (that’s Studio 54, natch) buttons on a printed shirt.
All those were nice feats unto themselves, but still, Babyghost’s most commendable move this season was one of self-awareness. Hupper: “We want to make clothing [girls] want, not clothing we want them to wear.” That meant wisely continuing to pare back the disparate graphic elements that have characterized Babyghost in seasons past in favor of bewitching, more basic pieces. The pair also debuted a lower-priced range, dubbed Stashhouse (muse, stylist, and Babyghost international playgirl Xiao Wen Ju was wearing one of the bombers at last night’s presentation). It was the kind of strong effort that left you, if not undaunted by the reaper, keen to see what next season will bring.
What a difference a season can make. Sure, Babyghost is idiosyncratic enough to distinguish itself from most other brands today. Josh Hupper and Qiaoran Huang are a pair of bicontinental magpies (in the best sense), plucking inspiration from chopper culture and True Detective for Spring ’15, and turning out clothes tough, flirty, and streetwear-tinged. But where their last offering felt, in places, perhaps a touch one-dimensional, leaning heavily as it did on graphics, Fall found the designers diversifying their offerings where both shape and fabrication were concerned. Inspired by interiors, from The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel to Home House, a Georgian manse belonging to Elizabeth, Countess of Home (whose debauched parties earned her the sobriquet “Queen of Hell”), Hupper and Huang churned out pieces in tapestries, flocked lace, and taffeta. Upping the ante in terms of materials made a world of difference in overall appeal. The season’s styling came courtesy of Babyghost muse, catwalk star, and pro facemaker Xiao Wen Ju, and included mash-ups of the sporty and sweet every bit as playful as she is. The effect? Youthful, but not unyieldingly so. That omnipresent Babyghost edge kept things in check. To wit, a standout black bomber that read “Revenge” across the back. It will do double duty as street-style bait for those so inclined, but it’ll also be a surefire hit for stockists like VFiles.
Babyghost is the fledgling bi-continental brand from Chinese Qiaoran Huang and American Josh Hupper, both of whom interned at Diane von Furstenberg; Hupper then went on to design at Thakoon. In 2010 they formed Babyghost, a playful, streetwear-leaning range with a particular eye to the tension of the girlish and the hard-edged. In the brand’s Spring offering, polka dots and multi-hued lace played alongside graphics inspired by chopper culture and tattoo artist Troy Denning. There were sweet dresses—like a kicky number in denim and a wide-neck body-con—and elsewhere slick black jerseys printed with skulls that harked back to another Babyghost Spring touchstone: True Detective.
Some of the simplest propositions here were the most successful: an oversize white button-down edged in polka-dot trim, and a plaid bomber that, on closer inspection, was dappled with leopard spots. They were at once charming and sinister—not unlike doll-faced Xiao Wen Ju in the brand’s Spring video, toting a gun and taking aim at cherished cartoon characters. Xiao is a walking endorsement for Babyghost, as she is often spotted in street-style shots wearing the label. Fellow countrywoman Liu Wen has also been seen in the brand’s clothes. While the bulk of Babyghost’s business is in China at this point, the designers are making a strong bid for the American market, and it’s currently stocked at VFiles’ Mercer Street brick-and-mortar outpost. With friends like these, only good things are on the horizon for Babyghost.
Dong Liang One Day, Spring/Summer 2016
栋梁又一日，春夏 2016
New York | Street Staples | Your Closet is Missing Something from Babyghost | by TheGoodLife
纽约 | 街拍必备 | 你的衣柜里少了一件 BABYGHOST | 优仕生活
Video
Website
www.mybabyghost.com
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