Years ago, Shuoyi Chen, the visionary behind the avant-garde menswear label Anastasia Elektra, asked herself a simple yet profound question: “How do you design a garment that gives a man permission to cry?”. She had watched her father don a traditional suit that allowed for only one emotion, stoic resolve. In that moment, Chen realized that conventional menswear had become a uniform of emotional restriction, shielding men behind a facade of rigidity. That question sparked a radical concept she calls the “Armor of Honesty,” a design philosophy that rejects traditional armor-like wool and steel in favor of delicate materials like paper, turning fragility into strength. By engineering garments out of high-performance paper, Anastasia Elektra challenges wearers to find power in vulnerability, reimagining what men’s fashion can be.
Today, Chen’s unlikely armor is making waves in the fashion world. Her label Anastasia Elektra is devoted to merging material science, architecture, and emotional honesty into wearable art. This ethos took center stage at Chicago Fashion Week 2025, where Anastasia Elektra’s breakthrough “Chicago Architecture” collection stunned audiences with an audacious translation of the city’s skyline into clothing. Each garment in the collection functioned as a miniature architectural study, trousers echoing the rhythmic setbacks of Marina City, coats mirroring the Willis Tower’s vertical thrust, and jackets capturing the geometric elegance of the Tribune Tower. The message was clear: menswear, in Chen’s hands, could be both an artistic structure and an emotional statement.
At Chicago Fashion Week 2025, models showcased Anastasia Elektra’s avant-garde designs that blur the line between clothing and architecture. One model emerged in a sculptural gray T-shirt adorned with bold, caution-tape motifs and angular graphics, exemplifying the brand’s blend of streetwear and high-concept design. The atmosphere was charged with surprise and admiration as each piece demonstrated how cloth could behave like infrastructure, folding and unfolding with the wearer’s every move.
At the heart of Anastasia Elektra is the idea that true strength can arise from vulnerability. Chen’s “Armor of Honesty” philosophy redefines menswear by encouraging emotional expression rather than concealment. Her decision to craft structural garments from paper, a material more often associated with fragility, was both symbolic and revolutionary. By transforming paper into a rigid, engineered textile, she created a literal and figurative suit of armor that is simultaneously fragile and formidable. “Traditional menswear demands conformity,” Chen explained in an interview. “My work offers men permission to inhabit form differently, to express complexity rather than suppress it.” In other words, Anastasia Elektra’s pieces invite the wearer to show vulnerability and courage in equal measure, turning a fashion statement into a cultural commentary on modern masculinity.
Chen’s philosophy is deeply informed by her background. Trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in design and material science, and honored with admission to the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, she possesses a rare blend of technical skill and conceptual vision. This foundation helped her merge architectural principles with fashion design, treating garments like buildings, complete with blueprints and load-bearing folds. “I don’t sew structure into the cloth, I fold it out,” said Chen of her engineering-first approach. Each piece behaves less like fabric and more like architecture, with every fold mathematically precise, echoing the blueprints of skyscrapers. By literally folding form out of flat material, she shifts clothing from soft drape to sculptural structure, forging a new language for menswear built on geometry and honesty.
Anastasia Elektra’s bold vision had its public debut with the Chicago Architecture Collection at Chicago Fashion Week 2025, and the reception was nothing short of electrifying. Under the spotlights, models moved like living sculptures in garments that took inspiration directly from Chicago’s iconic skyline. The audience, expecting familiar menswear silhouettes, instead saw coats and trousers that behaved like kinetic art, rigid paper forms that flexed subtly as the models walked, revealing the meticulous engineering in each crease and joint. Chen’s team had spent months treating paper with proprietary chemical and polymer coatings to ensure these pieces were not just visually stunning but also durable and wearable. Each garment required proprietary chemical treatments to render the high-performance paper both water-resistant and flexible while maintaining structural integrity. Early skepticism about a “paper outfit” quickly dissolved when Chen demonstrated that her treated paper could bend, flex, and even withstand water without losing its shape.
Critics and fashion insiders praised the collection for successfully uniting architectural rigor with avant-garde fashion. The runway presentation proved that architectural principles could inform actual garment construction, not just serve as visual motifs. Trousers mirrored the buttressed curves of Marina City’s twin towers; a trench coat split into tiers evoked the stepped profile of Willis Tower. By treating the cityscape as her mood board and engineering blueprint, Chen turned a civic narrative into personal style. The show’s success immediately caught the attention of organizers from Miami Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week, who extended invitations to feature her work on their runways next. What began as an experimental debut in Chicago quickly signaled a broader demand for Chen’s material-engineering approach to fashion.
Realizing her vision required innovations at the frontier of fashion technology. One of Chen’s biggest challenges was making paper behave like a luxury textile, strong, flexible, water-resistant, yet sculptural. To achieve this, she partnered with material engineers at SAIC to develop a proprietary chemical polymer treatment that fortifies paper fibers without losing their organic character. The result was a high-performance paper fabric that could be permanently folded and molded into complex geometries, yet endure the stresses of wear. She reinforced critical stress points with flexible wire and 3D-printed hinges at crucial joints, so that the garments move with the body rather than against it. In essence, Chen turned garment construction into an exercise in material engineering, treating lab work and studio draping as equally vital tools.
The design process at Anastasia Elektra blurs the line between atelier and laboratory. Chen’s Chicago studio houses both sewing machines and test tubes, reflecting an interdisciplinary method: bolts of her special paper rest alongside vats of experimental coating solutions and 3D printers humming out custom hardware. Every fold in her garments is plotted with architectural precision, maximizing strength while minimizing waste. In fact, the label employs origami-inspired, zero-waste patternmaking, meaning each piece of material is used fully with little to no scrap. This not only aligns with next-generation sustainability practices, but also reinforces the notion that constraints can spark creativity. By folding rather than cutting, Chen adds structure through geometry instead of padding or interfacing. The outcome is clothing that carries an industrial toughness in its DNA but feels almost weightless, as striking on a pedestal as it is on a person.
As an innovator pushing the boundaries of menswear, Chen faced her share of skeptics. Convincing high-end buyers and editors that a coat made primarily of engineered paper could command a luxury price (around $2,500) was initially difficult. Many wondered whether these sculptural pieces were more art installation than wearable apparel, and whether they would hold up over time. Chen tackled this “paper perception” problem head-on by reframing the narrative. She stopped talking about clothing and started talking about “wearable architecture” and “material engineering”. This semantic shift, paired with tangible demonstrations of durability, helped recast the garments as high-concept design products akin to collectible design objects rather than disposable fashion. Business and design media took note: features in Business Insider, L’Officiel, and New York Weekly treated her work as serious innovation, validating the brand’s intellectual narrative in the public eye. With thought-leaders praising her approach, what began as skepticism soon evolved into curiosity and even enthusiasm among luxury consumers, especially conceptual art collectors.
Manufacturing these avant-garde pieces presented another hurdle. Traditional garment factories balked at Anastasia Elektra’s unusual requirements, from handling rigid paper textiles to executing millimeter-perfect geometric folds. Outsourcing production risked losing the very precision and quality that make the pieces special. So Chen adopted a hyper-controlled, hybrid manufacturing model: all initial research, development, and master pattern-making are done in-house in Chicago, and only small-batch production is farmed out to specialized micro-studios trained in non-traditional materials. By keeping volumes low and expertise high, the brand maintains impeccable quality control and preserves the limited-edition aura of each piece. This approach turned a challenge into a defining strength, aligning with the brand’s ethos that exclusivity and conceptual purity matter more than mass production. In Chen’s words, “the brand sells material engineering, not just design,” carving out a niche that commands respect from fashion and science circles alike.
These strategic triumphs have paid off. Key pieces from Anastasia Elektra’s collections have been acquired by private collectors who display them as “investment-grade kinetic art objects,” further blurring the line between fashion and fine art. At the same time, Chen introduced a tiered product strategy to welcome a broader audience: an Architectural T-Shirt line offers more accessible, wearable interpretations of her concepts, giving newcomers a tangible entry point into the brand’s world. This combination of limited-edition showpieces and conceptual ready-to-wear has allowed Anastasia Elektra to cultivate an avid following without compromising its avant-garde vision. It’s a balancing act, part artistic showcase, part sustainable business model, and Chen is orchestrating it with remarkable professionalism and foresight.
Bridging Fashion, Sustainability, and New Masculinity
In an era when sustainability and gender norms are at the forefront of cultural conversation, Anastasia Elektra sits squarely at the intersection of these critical dialogues. Chen’s choice of materials and methods embodies an ethical commitment: all materials are sustainably sourced (often second-hand) and utilized under a strict zero-waste philosophy, demonstrating that environmental responsibility can coexist with cutting-edge design. By turning recycled paper into luxury menswear, the brand poses provocative questions about consumption and innovation, proving that the future of fashion may lie in reimagining the humblest of materials. This focus on materiality over convention sets the label apart from other avant-garde brands. While many talk about sustainability, Chen elevates the conversation to material meaning, showing that the very substance of a garment can carry a message. In her case, paper symbolizes transparency and truth, fitting perfectly with the “Armor of Honesty” ethos.
Culturally, Anastasia Elektra is making masculinity its canvas. The brand proposes a new vision of male identity, one that embraces sensitivity and emotional courage without sacrificing strength. Chen often recounts that her mission began with giving men permission to be vulnerable, and each collection drives that point home. When a man wears an Anastasia Elektra coat constructed of folded paper, he literally wears his vulnerability on his sleeve, and in doing so, transforms it into a shield of strength. This is why the brand matters now: it challenges archaic norms of masculinity by offering an alternative narrative in fashion that strength can mean openness. As one fashion commentator noted, Anastasia Elektra doesn’t just make clothing; it engineers a new language of male identity, one where architecture, art, and anatomy intersect to redefine what menswear can communicate.
Buoyed by critical acclaim and growing interest, Shuoyi Chen is setting her sights on the global stage. In the next few years, she aims to transition Anastasia Elektra from a conceptual niche label into an internationally recognized architectural design house. Plans are underway to turn recent buzz into high-profile opportunities: Chen is in talks to formalize showings at Miami and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks and ultimately secure a coveted slot on the official Paris or Milan menswear calendar within three years. Such a move would place Anastasia Elektra alongside the world’s top avant-garde designers, a strategic step to solidify the brand’s credibility and expose its innovations to fashion capitals abroad. On the retail front, Chen envisions partnering with cutting-edge luxury concept stores to bring her pieces to global consumers. She is targeting placements in influential boutiques like Dover Street Market and Machine-A in key regions (Asia, Europe, North America), where the so-called “conceptual collectors” shop for statement designs. These curated partnerships would allow the brand to maintain its exclusivity while reaching style-forward clientele who appreciate its marriage of art and apparel.
Innovation remains at the core of Anastasia Elektra’s future. Chen is establishing an in-house Material Innovation Lab dedicated to pushing the boundaries of sustainable textiles and wearable tech. High on the agenda is bio-fabrication, researching advanced cellulose fibers and bio-materials so that next-generation paper garments could be 100% biodegradable or derived from organic waste. In parallel, the lab will expand the use of 3D printing for structural components like joints, buckles, and signature hardware, further integrating technology into craftsmanship. These efforts will ensure that the label stays ahead of the curve in material science, reinforcing its identity as much a tech startup as a fashion brand. On the product side, Chen plans to grow the popular Architectural T-Shirt collection into a permanent line of engineered basics, complete with subtle folding techniques and architectural details, to provide financial stability that fuels her costly R&D for the main collections. It’s a savvy approach: scaling the accessible range to support the experimental work, all while keeping the brand’s DNA intact.
Ultimately, Shuoyi Chen’s ambitions go beyond revenue or accolades; they’re about sparking a movement. She dreams of a day when the “Armor of Honesty” is more than a brand tagline, but a cultural touchstone in menswear. Wearing an Anastasia Elektra piece should signify a conscious choice to embrace vulnerability as a source of strength, she says, fundamentally challenging what society considers “masculine”. And when future fashion historians look back, Chen hopes her label will be remembered as the one that permanently merged fashion with architecture and science, proving that intellectual rigor and creativity together can redefine the luxury industry’s future. Given the impact she’s already made, from Chicago’s runways to collectors’ galleries, that legacy seems increasingly within reach.
For more information on Anastasia Elektra, visit the official website (anastasiaelektra.com) or follow the label on Instagram (@anastasia_elektra_). The journey of this visionary brand is just beginning, and it invites everyone, designers, collectors, and everyday wearers alike, to rethink what menswear can mean.
