Interview
Can Cui
Can Cui, originally from Beijing and now based in New York, is celebrated for her sculptural silhouettes and nuanced material experimentation. With a background in high-end fashion production, she has contributed to a number of notable celebrity projects for talents such as Doechii, Adrien Brody, Ariana Grande, Liu Yifei, and Samuel L. Jackson. Her design practice bridges technical precision with conceptual depth, often navigating themes of identity, transformation, and emotional resonance. Can’s work has been featured in publications including Bazaar China, SELIN, and various international fashion and art platforms. Through each collection and collaboration, she challenges traditional notions of garment construction and pushes the expressive boundaries of fashion as a storytelling medium. With a background in high-end fashion production, she has contributed to a number of notable celebrity projects for talents such as Doechii, Adrien Brody, Ariana Grande, Liu Yifei, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Her design practice bridges technical precision with conceptual depth, often navigating themes of identity, transformation, and emotional resonance. Can’s work has been featured in publications including Bazaar China, SELIN, and various international fashion and art platforms. Through each collection and collaboration, she challenges traditional notions of garment construction and pushes the expressive boundaries of fashion as a storytelling medium.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born and raised in Beijing and later moved to New York to study at Parsons School of Design, where I received my BFA in Fashion Design. My artistic journey began through textile and handcraft practices, often as a quiet form of self-expression in response to societal and familial expectations. As I grew, fashion became more than a medium - it became a language through which I could translate internal transformation into physical form.”
What inspires you?
“I’m deeply inspired by emotional dualities - constraint and freedom, softness and strength, silence and resistance. Personal memory, especially those shaped during my childhood, plays a major role in my creative process. I also draw inspiration from the tactile world: the textures of aged fabric, the layered meanings in color, and the imperfections found in handwork.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My work revolves around identity, emotional healing, and liberation. Many of my projects, like Chou Chou, explore the shift from conformity to self-acceptance through color, form, and textile manipulation. The underlying message is simple but profound: fashion and textiles can be tools for reclaiming agency, rewriting narratives, and reconciling with the past.”
How would you describe your work?
“I would describe my work as ‘wearable introspection’ - sculptural, emotionally charged, and materially sensitive. I aim to create pieces that function not only as garments but as vessels of memory and markers of growth.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I’m drawn to artists and designers who blur the line between body and environment, art and utility. Rei Kawakubo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Yayoi Kusama and Ann Hamilton are deeply influential to me - each of them in their own way embraces vulnerability, distortion, and material storytelling. I also find inspiration in lesser-known craft artists who work in silence yet create with intense intimacy.”
“I’m deeply inspired by emotional dualities - constraint and freedom, softness and strength, silence and resistance.”
What is your creative process like?
“My process begins with a question or a feeling. I often start by collecting visual references, swatches, or even childhood diary fragments. I experiment with fabric dyeing, draping, knitting, or hand-stitching without a fixed end goal, allowing intuition to shape the final form. Research and personal reflection go hand in hand in my studio.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Artists are witnesses, translators, and transformers. We absorb the world around us and reimagine it through our own lens. In today’s fast-changing, hyper-digital world, I believe artists are increasingly responsible for slowing things down - bringing people back to tactile experiences, emotional truths, and shared humanity.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“One of the most meaningful experiences was showcasing a textile-based installation that embodied Chou Chou's transformation arc - from color restriction to personal liberation - during an intimate studio presentation. While not a traditional gallery exhibition, it allowed viewers to interact with the work up close and connect emotionally. My work has also been featured in publications such as ‘Bazaar China’ and ‘SELIN’, which brought wider visibility to my artistic vision.”
Website: cuican20190511.wixsite.com
Instagram: @_ccccan
