A Magazine curated by

Blake Abbie: You made a selection of ten books, why are you drawn to books as a medium for research and inspiration?

Samuel Yang: Books are a very special format, both as a source of knowledge and as physical objects. They hold a certain weight and presence, and there is something very tactile and intimate about engaging with them. Compared to digital research, they feel more focused and, in a way, more precious.

Erik Litzén: Books are essential for our research process and for the way we are taking in parts of the world. It is hard to imagine doing it without them.

BA: Do you usually start your design process by returning to these specific pages?

SY: There are many checkpoints throughout the creative process. At the beginning of a new season we often revisit these books and share references within the team. In that way it becomes a starting point for conversation and alignment.

EL: Our relationship with books and other printed matter is a constant, ongoing affair. We always keep them around us. We single out a few key books or images each season that act as part engine or catalyst and part anchor as the season progresses.

BA: What is the common thread that connects these ten very different titles?

SY: In a way, they reflect the ongoing conversations we have been having around the brand. Collectively, they paint a portrait of what Samuel Guì Yang is, while also serving as a collection of books we feel connected to and want to share.

EL: Sometimes it is hard to identify the common thread that holds the research together as intuition and instinct take a leading role. You can see the collection in conversation with the research we produce as the thread that links it all together.

BA: How has Derek Jarman’s work, specifically Chroma, influenced your approach to colour?

EL: Derek Jarman is one of many artists who keep returning to our work. His way of creating a total experience of beauty and aesthetics that flows through his artworks, writing, filmmaking, gardening and life is a great source of inspiration. Chroma is one of his books that keeps returning, with its free associations around colour and their inherent qualities — ‘If you look the light of the world in the eyes, creation turns scarlet.’ We recommend everyone to read it as it is short, but full of openings that lead you into a lifelong exploration and appreciation of colour.

BA: What interests you about the Western lens on the East found in the Hockney and Beaton titles?

SY: Far East by Cecil Beaton was something I found in a vintage bookstore during a trip to Wales. Initially I was drawn to the colour combinations of the fabric cover and then to the title itself. I am always interested in historical photography as it offers both a combination of different cultural perspectives and a specific moment in time that feels very inspiring. The same applies to China Diary by Stephen Spender and David Hockney, which displays the landscape of Guilin interpreted through Hockney’s brushstrokes and artistic view on nature. These illustrations fill me with nostalgia, evoking places I visited during my childhood.

BA: How do the books on traditional Chinese clothing and art inform your silhouettes?

SY: References to traditional Chinese clothing have been part of the brand from the beginning. These books are important because they provide a more in-depth historical understanding, for example how certain details like the opening of a cheongsam have developed over time. These kinds of written references help strengthen and ground our interpretation.

BA: Is there a specific image or passage in this collection that you find yourself returning to most?

SY: It is less about a single image or passage, and more about returning to certain feelings or atmospheres within the books. Sometimes it is a colour, a composition or even just a detail that resonates at a particular moment.

BA: If you could only keep one of these books in your studio, which would it be and why?

SY: They are all very precious to us — as long as they are either in our London or Shanghai studio we feel more at ease. But if I had to choose, I would keep the two novels of The Rouge of the North by Eileen Chang with the photographic covers. They are rare editions from the late 1980s and they feel particularly close to me.

EL: I would keep Chroma by Derek Jarman. It is a light book with an expansive universe between its covers.