Q+A with Xuke Pan
Parsons BFA 2026
Impossible to Ignore
In Next Gen / No Kill, we spotlight standout fashion graduates whose work opens up new conversations and possibilities. From New York’s top programs and beyond, these are the designers shaping a future of fashion defined by intelligence, creativity, and intention.
What is the inspiration or concept behind your collection?
My thesis is about collecting ceramic fragments discarded during the manufacturing process and transforming them into trims that can be sewn onto garments.
The project emerged from two industries that seem to have little in common: fashion and ceramic manufacturing. I see myself as a bridge connecting these two worlds. I come from China, a country powered by manufacturing. In a city called Chaozhou, around 80% of the world’s ceramics are produced. When I was a child, my grandmother always told me, “Cherish every bowl in your hands, because someone spent time and effort making it.”
From my grandparents’ generation to my parents’, manufacturing was what sustained our family. In some ways, I also work within the realm of making, but differently—I use clothing as a language for expressing emotions. What’s interesting is that my parents and grandparents are all deeply creative people. As they entered retirement, they began painting and writing poetry. Yet for most of their lives, manufacturing was never a creative medium; it was simply a way to earn a living.
Realizing this made me want to return to the reality of making. I visited factories, landfills, and ceramic recycling centers, where I collected more than seventy discarded ceramic objects. I then cut, reshaped, and assembled them into over 1,200 trims, which ultimately became part of my Parsons graduate collection.
What’s one material or technique you’re currently obsessed with?
The technique I used to create my ceramic trims is tin soldering. Tin is a metal with a relatively low melting point and high fluidity, making it ideal for reinforcing ceramic fragments without damaging them. Since the ceramic pieces I collected varied greatly in thickness and size, tin was also effective in wrapping sharp edges while providing enough strength to withstand sewing and everyday wear.
What does fashion mean to you today?
To me, fashion is about everything in the world.
It is not only about clothing as a way of covering the body, but also a mirror that reflects society. Standing backstage at the Parsons runway show, I felt this very deeply. My classmates came from different countries and cultural backgrounds, and when the models walked wearing our garments, it became a remarkable moment of cultural exchange.
At the same time, clothing exists to be worn and experienced by people. It carries a social dimension. I am excited to imagine these meaningful and beautiful garments created by my classmates eventually finding their way into different parts of the world.
But fashion is also both beautiful and cruel.
There is still a great deal of exploitation within the industry—environmentally, economically, and in terms of labor. As I mentioned, I see fashion as a mirror of society, and many aspects of human greed and inequality are amplified within it.
I do not believe there is anything wrong with loving fashion itself. What matters is how we choose to engage with it.
What’s one thing you wish the fashion industry would leave behind—and one thing it should embrace?
I think the fashion industry should leave behind dishonesty. Fashion is an industry built on dreams. When my role shifted from consumer to maker, I realized how many narratives are created to convince people to believe in the garment they are buying while overlooking the contradictions and exploitation behind it.
This is also why I believe fashion education should engage more deeply with knowledge from other disciplines rather than remaining isolated within itself. Instead of constantly responding to the latest trends, we should be asking what kinds of garments can withstand the test of time—pieces that people will not discard even after ten years.
Materials science, engineering, anthropology, ecology, craft history, and sociology can all offer valuable perspectives for fashion design. Fashion should not simply react to the present moment; it should cultivate a designer’s ability to think across longer timescales. When design begins to focus on the lifecycle of an object rather than its sales cycle, fashion can become a practice with genuine cultural depth and social responsibility.
Who or what has shaped your design values most?
I think the answer goes back to my thesis itself. My family members have spent much of their lives working in manufacturing. Their hands-on relationship with making and their respect for objects have profoundly shaped how I think about design.
Rather than constantly seeking new materials, I am more interested in deeply exploring the value of a single material. I pay close attention to the characteristics of the materials I use and experiment with different making techniques to uncover new possibilities within them.
If you could design for anyone in the world, who would it be—and why?
I often think about people who are excluded by conventional fashion standards. Many of my close friends do not work in fashion. They may not have the height of runway models or faces that conform to mainstream beauty ideals, nor do they necessarily follow the latest trends. Yet the more time I spend with them, the more convinced I become that they are all vivid, lovable, and beautiful in their own ways.
People shine when they talk about what they love. They reveal unique qualities in unexpected moments. Their beauty does not come from fitting into a standardized ideal, but from the experiences that make them who they are. One of my friends once told me, “True wisdom is the ability to embrace differences. Everyone has their own beautiful moments.” That sentence has stayed with me ever since.
It made me realize that beauty should not be an exclusive standard; it should be a way of seeing. We are often taught to define who deserves to be seen through body type, age, gender, profession, or purchasing power. But in reality, everyone deserves to be seen, understood, and appreciated.
Three things keeping you sane right now
Passion, craftsmanship, and love.
One word to describe your design approach: Recontextualization
Where can we find you online?
@panx_303
