Taiwanese Designers Continue to Impress at London Fashion Week

"At INF SS26, the Taipei-based label made a powerful case for fashion as a language that requires no words"

INF introduced discipline through all-black shirting and wide-leg technical tailoring

Teal and purple checks cut against monochrome trousers for a graphic clash of pattern

A looser check shirt paired with grid trousers underlined INF’s Memphis-inspired contrasts

A crisp cropped shirt offset drawstring trousers in INF’s orange and green checks

"INF’s SS26 runway played with uniform movement and Memphis-inspired prints, contrasting monochrome grids with jolts of teal, orange, and purple."

The INF show began not with clothes but with voice: a video of the designer, Kuo-Wei Huang, speaking in Taiwanese. His words, though untranslated, set a tone of deliberate intimacy. This introduction perfectly framed the central contradiction of his SS26 collection: a show about the fearless, chaotic individuality of the 1980s, presented with the rigorous control of a military drill.

The collection was a tribute to the graphic energy of the Memphis design movement, a heartfelt reference to the designer’s childhood memories of interiors, architecture, and arcade games. This translated into boxy, double-breasted suits in citrus-orange and original prints with the geometric playfulness of the era. Observed as a simple "checkerboard" was in fact a direct reference to this nostalgic yet futuristic aesthetic. The collection was a celebration of stylistic diversity and exuberant self-expression.

Orange tailoring with layered skirt panels pushed INF’s 1980s tribute into sharper territory

Boxy teal and purple tailoring recalled arcade-inspired prints from Liu’s childhood references

"Tailoring anchored the collection, with Liu reworking checks into boxy suits and layered skirt panels that carried both discipline and nostalgia."

This theme of individuality is built into the clothes themselves. Central to the INF philosophy is transformability; each garment is designed to be worn in multiple ways, encouraging the wearer to adapt the piece to their own identity. A coat can become a dress, a sleeve can be detached. This multifunctionality is the brand’s answer to reducing fashion waste, a modern, sustainable update on a decade often remembered for its excess.

The models’ synchronised rotations were a practical way to demonstrate the garments' adaptability from every angle. The uniformed movement allowed the audience to understand the clothes as a system of intelligent, versatile components. The result was a collection that, despite its retro influences, felt deeply modern. By using the discipline of the runway to showcase the freedom of his clothes, Kuo-Wei Huang offered one of the week's most thoughtful and coherent visions.