Sheguang Hu’s Fall/Winter 2017 show at the Angel Orensanz Center was striking. The show began with a woman being brought onto the stage. She wore a long parchment-colored gown and was lead to the side of the main stage. She then began chanting. Live music at a runway show isn’t anything new, but this woman’s chanting was haunting, in a beautiful way. In fact, haunting but beautiful is the best way to describe Hu’s collection.

Hu’s work is known to be frightening in some way or another. The pieces in this collection were more subdued than the intimidating looks in past seasons. The avant garde flair was still apparent, however, as the first model was dressed in a clear matte dress that went over her head and somewhat obscured it from view. Her hair was slicked back and she was nude under the sheer dress.

The last few pieces in the collection incorporated bones. Some of the pieces featured bone structures outside of the dresses themselves, like exoskeletons. The others had the bone structures underneath the fabric, so that it deformed the shape of the model. One looked like she had a hunchback, and another looked vaguely pregnant, but with protruding bones rather than a smooth belly.

Another common element of Hu’s shows are the platform heels. For this show, not all the models wore the heels, though some of the women definitely did. One model actually fell as she was walking back up the ramp. She picked herself up quickly, so some people didn’t even notice. Despite this hiccup, Hu’s show was phenomenal.

Email Sona Shekhawat at [email protected].