Du Yang likes to think of herself as a surrealist designer, and given the trippy width and breadth of her work thus far, it's obvious that she revels in the absurdist details. Browse through the catalogue of collections on the website for her line Yang Du, and there's really no telling where you'll end up—there is a model wrapped in plastic, with a giant bow wrapped around her knees and roses in her hair (the human bouquet of flowers), a buxom babe with a plastic horse head sprouting from her neck and an old lady sitting in the park in a top hat with a soft, cuddly ghetto blaster sewn in to her lap. Those farcical fashion days are, thankfully, a few years behind her, and the London-based designer has become progressively more wearable, without losing any of that tongue-in-cheek fun. Last season for example, Yang made a collection that was part Where The Wild Things Are, part Mrs Doubtfire, so just picture glorious and intricate animal suits with the heads cut off. Fall 2009 definitely skews more grandma, relying on the chunky charm of oversized knits. The models, male and female, all look like little kids prancing around in their mother's wardrobe, a cozy, comfy look that actually doesn't seem like such an absurd idea right now.
