- Dylan Tang
INF 敞開大門的暗黑王國/ INF, the darkness kingdom is open the gate
「趴一聲！心中的某個部分斷裂了。」
這是村上春樹某本小說中主角內心的獨白，
也是活在都會的人時常在夜深人靜時感受到的孤獨。
當我們因為社群媒體將看似遙遠兩端的距離拉近，但我們現實中，人與人之間的長度真的縮短了嗎？不管一個人當下的心境過的有多富足，他陰暗角落的那個缺仍會時不時地浮現。或許這就是活在當下的原罪，也是科技看似帶給你糖吃，卻又不知道那是否只是顆裹著糖衣的毒藥。
台灣設計師品牌INF，一路走來都以黑色來呈現主要的視覺意象；有人說「這是設計師心中的反射」，也有人說「黑色代表的是無限大的創意」。不管你怎麼解讀，時裝設計師郭瑋的黑色，已經成為INF的品牌DNA，更讓人說到台灣時裝，就會將黑色自動連結到INF上頭。但若真的討論連結這件事，今年的郭瑋則將自己一手打造的暗黑王國敞開大門，邀請各方元素加入他的行列，要讓INF從這一季開始產生與各界的 “CONNEXTION” 並試圖將台灣時裝界產生以黑色為基底，進化成全新的型態。
春夏2021的CONNEXTION
若只有以自身連結做為出發點，那麼這一季的INF也沒有必要仔細看的打算。其實，這一次郭瑋談的“連結”，主要是以種族平等、性別平等......等，來自社會中不公不義的事。這也是為什麼時尚富有深度，並不只有膚淺外表的原因。所謂的時裝設計、概念藍圖、社會價值，最終都會回到實體表現，這也是為什麼時尚總是吸引人，卻又殘酷地將人打回現實的原因。
這一次的春夏2021時裝系列，郭瑋將橘色按比例的加入他的最新系列中，這個舉動不僅讓人感受到這位硬漢設計師的溫暖一面，也讓這個2020斷掉的許多連結透過一位設計師的小巧思，再次從絕望中感受到希望。此外，時裝設計師最重要的就是與時代接軌。因此台灣覆蓋率最高的社群媒體 LINE 便成為郭瑋的合作的對象。在最新一季的系列中，這個通訊軟體的標準色被設計師更改了色調，巧妙地結合在INF的最新時裝。而每一位模特兒邊拍攝邊走秀的大膽想法，更讓這個品牌在時裝週結束後仍持續產生與人之間的橋樑。畢竟，從伸展台上看的角度一直都是不真實且封閉的世界，但透過最新釋出的影片，我們不但能夠在腦海中產生一個不曾擁有過的生活畫面，更讓透過深度思考發現「所有的事情都有不同面向，但只要仔細琢磨，任何事情都能化為現實。」
NEXT from CONNEXTION
INF開啟了未來的道路，這並不代表它會屏棄過去的一切。在最新的時裝設計中，暗色系、硬漢風仍是整體設計的主軸，但透過印花、電繡的手法讓整體視覺更加溫暖。若你問為什麼暗黑能溫暖？那是因為這個系列有著你從未體驗過的生活感，以及敞開雙臂邀請你一同加入時裝產業美好的連結。
「別再為了『已讀不回』煩惱。」
"Some part of my heart is broken."
This is the inner monologue of the protagonist in a novel by Haruki Murakami.
It is also the loneliness that people who live in the city often feel at night.
When we bring the seemingly distant closer by social media, however, does the distance between people is really shortened? No matter how fulfilled a person's current state of mind is, the empty and darkness, somehow, will still surface from time to time. Perhaps this is the sin of people who live in the present. And the technology that seems to bring you candy, but you don't know if it's just a sugar-coated poison.
INF, a Taiwanese brand, has always used black to present the main visual. Some people say that "this is a reflection in the designer's mind", while others say that "black represents infinite creativity." No matter how you interpret it, fashion designer Kuo Wei's black has become INF's brand DNA. When people talk about Taiwanese fashion, they will automatically link black to INF. But if we really discuss the connection, Kuo Wei has finally opened the gate to the dark kingdom he built this year, and invite everyone to join him.
CONNEXTION for Spring Summer 2021
If only self-connection is the starting point, then there is no need to look carefully at the INF this season. In fact, the "connections" Kuo Wei talked about this time are mainly based on racial equality, gender equality... etc., which come from injustices in society. This is why fashion is actually deeper, not just superficial. The so-called fashion design, conceptual blueprint, and social value will eventually return to physical performance. This is why fashion is always attractive but cruelly returns people to reality.
For this Spring/Summer 2021 fashion collection, Kuo Wei added orange to his latest collection in proportion. This move makes people feel the warm wave of the tough guy designer. Through the ingenuity of a designer, hope was once again felt from despair. Besides, the most important thing for a fashion designer is to keep up with the times. Therefore, LINE, the social media with the highest coverage in Taiwan, has become the target of Kuo Wei's cooperation. In the latest collection, the standard colour of this communication APP has been changed by the designer, cleverly combined with the latest INF fashion. And the bold idea that each model making a video while walking the show has allowed the brand to continue to build bridges between people after the fashion week.
After all, the perspective from the extension stage has always been an unreal and closed world. But through the video, we can not only produce a picture of the life we have never had before, but also let us discover through deep thinking that "All things have different aspects, but as long as you think about it carefully, everything can become reality.”
NEXT from CONNEXTION
INF has opened the way to the future, but it does not mean that it will abandon everything in the past. In the latest fashion design, dark colours and tough-guy style are still the main themes of the overall design, but the overall vision is warmer through the techniques of printing and electric embroidery. If you ask why dark can be warm? That's because this collection has a sense of life that you have never experienced before, and opens your arms to invite you to join the fashion industry with a beautiful connection.
"Don't worry about the "READ" message that never replies."
