Damian Hurley, Honor Swinton Byrne Fete Fanbod Launch

LONDON — Designer Fan Yu Shih’s new brand, Fanbod, is dedicated to celebrating the female form.

“Fanbod was born out of rebellion — against impossible beauty standards and the pressure to shrink ourselves. I wanted to create pieces that make women feel powerful, unapologetic, and dangerous in the best way,” Shih said.

The brand draws inspiration from shapewear to create designs comfortable for all body shapes and sizes. The launch collection features six pieces made with body-sculpting bonded jersey.

“I’ve been 20 kilos heavier and 20 kilos lighter, gone through surgeries, weight gain and weight loss. I was raised in a culture that didn’t treat women like me kindly before, or after, alterations. There was no seat at the table for me, so I built one,” the Taiwanese-born, Singapore-raised designer added.

Dresses, tops, and trousers come in in black, scarlet, brown and cobalt, with buckles that allow wearers to adjust garments to their body.

“Traditional shapewear is about minimizing body parts under the guise of smoothing, but the real message is ‘fix yourself to fit this dress.’ I know what it feels like to compress myself just to stop bulging out of a garment that was never designed with me in mind,” Shih said. “Fanbod flips that narrative.”

Guests, including Honor Swinton Byrne, model Damian Hurley and journalist Lisa Armstrong, toasted the new collection at a dinner in central London. There, Armstrong modelled one of the brand’s pieces, a sultry black dress with buckle detailing. 

Guests sipped on fortune cookie-topped cocktails (which contained fortunes that read “Make it their problem”) before sitting down to a four-course meal.

The celebrations culminated with a Chinese dragon dance, traditionally done to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck — which a new brand can always use.