Imung Lin - Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle

Xiangchou – Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle

PARTICIPATION IN THE BEST GRADUATES SHOW AND NOMINATED FOR THE NEO.FASHION. AWARD

The loss of a place raises questions of memory and identity. In Xiangchou, Imung Lin explores how a sense of home can be preserved after the disappearance of its physical site. Taking the designer’s childhood apartment in Shanghai as a point of departure, the work examines the relationship between personal memory, cultural heritage, and the built environment. The apartment embodies two distinct historical periods. The first, spanning the 1920s and 1930s, was shaped by cultural exchange, colonial influence, and social inequality. The second, following 1949, was characterized by ideological control and restrictions on individual expression. These histories are embedded in the apartment’s material environment, including upholstered furniture, wood, silk, and standardized spatial arrangements. Drawing from both periods, the work does not seek to reproduce their visual language. Instead, it investigates forms of cultural continuity that persist across historical and political ruptures. Within the tensions and contradictions of these eras, the artist identifies shared values, gestures, and material sensibilities that connect rather than divide. The apartment thus becomes a site where overlapping histories converge, offering a framework through which culture can be understood as both enduring and transformative across changing social and political conditions.

As the child of Chinese immigrants, Imung Lin was born in Berlin in 2001 and spent part of her childhood in Shanghai. She went on to study Textile and Fashion Design at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, graduating in February 2026. Her design practice is rooted in draping, material manipulation, laser processing, and embroidery. Working primarily through fragments of personal memory, her work reflects on cultural identity, place, and recollection, with a particular focus on her childhood experiences in Shanghai. Alongside her studies, she gained professional experience as a design assistant through internships at the Berlin-based label Kasia Kucharska and Robert Wun Couture in London. At Robert Wun Couture, she contributed to the creation of custom looks for figures such as Erykah Badu and Wisdom Kaye. These designs were presented at international events including the Met Gala, the Academy Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival. She also contributed to the FW24 collection presented during Paris Fashion Week and to the Homecoming Show in Hong Kong. 

Fotoshooting Credits: Fotografie: Moritz Geyer @moritzokok Fotografie Assistenz: Romy Altman @r.altman H&M: Isabelle Selwat @isabelle.caroline.selwat Models: Yang Groettrup @yang_groerttrup Haerim Oh @_rimmrim Pinn Nattakritta @pinntr Aldar Sharygin @urpuddle Mahiro Ikeda @mappinne