Xiao Xu - 2025 Mittelmoda Fashion Awards Finalist - MFA Fashion Design & the Arts

Xiao Xu, a 2025 MFA Fashion Design and the Arts graduate from Parsons Paris, was named a finalist in the 2025 Mittelmoda Fashion Awards in Milan. Congratulations! “The collection draws from Dressing for Pleasure, a 1970s fetish archive where women in ruffled latex gowns staged domestic scenes, constructing the paradoxical aesthetic of ‘Domestic Fetish’. Transposed into menswear, this tension challenges gendered dress codes while adopting Rachel Whiteread’s methodology of material transformation: reconstituting latex—traditionally laden with sensuality—into sculptural knitwear, embedding erotic dissonance within domestic forms. In this collection, a unique technique—latex molding—was developed, combining 3D printing, casting, and latex craftsmanship. The knit textures of the sweaters were produced through latex molding, with each pattern meticulously handcrafted.“