Back in 2022, when he was nominated for the prestigious ANDAM Fashion Award, he showed up in Paris just to be polite. He stayed at the back of the room with a drink in hand, certain he’d be heading home empty-handed. Then they called his name. In French. For the Prix Spécial.
Nearly $120,000 in prize money. It took his team two full minutes to find him and push him onstage. That moment cracked something open.
For years, he felt overlooked by the fashion world. London, where he’s based, hadn’t embraced him. No help from the British Fashion Council. No big names backing him. But Paris took notice. That award became a door kicker. Suddenly, Wun was the one everyone wanted to watch.
Wun / IG / Despite the high cost of his pieces (up to £150,000), Wun believes the fear of destruction they represent is a universal feeling that anyone can relate to.
Not in a regular fashion week slot, but on the Paris Haute Couture schedule, a closed circle of the elite. Wun became the first designer from Hong Kong to land there. The stakes were high.
Robert Wun’s “Scorched Bride”
One of his most haunting creations, the ivory wedding gown looked like it had survived a fire. The veil and dress were covered in carefully burned holes. Not digital tricks or prints. Real flames. He scorched the fabric using incense sticks, lighters, and cigarettes.
The result was chilling, beautiful, and raw. Fear, literally burned into couture.
Wun took that creeping fear of failure, of chaos, of being unseen, and stitched it into every look. He said it was the terror he felt right before his debut. The feeling that everything could collapse. But instead of hiding it, he made it the star of the show. And the fashion world couldn’t look away.
Wun’s Work Speaks Volumes!
Even with pieces that cost up to £150,000, the emotion underneath is universal. Fear of loss. Fear of breaking. Fear of being erased. He wrapped those ideas into sharp silhouettes, layered textures, and burnt edges. It was couture, yes, but it was also deeply human. That is what makes it powerful.
He started off thinking he would do ready-to-wear, like many designers. It was Chanel’s Bruno Pavlovsky who nudged him toward haute couture. That one suggestion changed everything. In 2023, Wun took his place on the schedule, stepping into a room most designers never get near.
Wun / IG / London, where Wun built his brand, gave him no help early on. That sense of being ignored shaped his edge. By the time the French fashion world showed up, Wun had already built something resilient.
In September 2025, the Barbican in London opened Dirty Looks, an exhibition showcasing designers who explore themes of decay and destruction. Wun’s work is front and center. It is his first major solo showing in the city that once passed him over. The timing couldn't be better.
Wun’s designs don’t scream just to be loud. They whisper something deeper. A singed hem. A frayed seam. A silhouette that looks like it is holding its breath. His pieces feel alive. They wear scars, but those scars are intentional. That is the heart of his artistry.
However, he is not doing it with purpose. Couture is often seen as unreachable, gowns for red carpets and royalty. But Wun makes fashion that speaks about survival, identity, and fear. The kind of fear that anyone, anywhere, can feel.
With stars like Lady Gaga, Adele, Beyoncé, and Björk wearing his designs, Wun is no longer the best-kept secret. His name is showing up in the right places.
