Do you ever feel like an outcast—like you can’t connect with modern society? Feng System welcomes you with wide-open arms. The Vietnamese clothing brand embraces the outcasts and creatives, nurturing us in hopes of elevating the culture. Their recent editorial campaign—set in a distant school for the gifted that’s a cross between X-Men and Harry Potter—captures that ethos in unnerving, innovative visual storytelling.
The brand was founded by Nguyen Phung and Phung Quang Dat, siblings from the historic city of Thua Thien Hue. They started Feng System at the end of 2021 when COVID was still holding the creative scene hostage. “We wanted to create a sense of community,” they say. “We want people to be able to freely express themselves through fashion.” You can see those values in the Sigmavior campaign, with its themes of connection, ostracization, and evolution. “It’s a brand for unique and independent people who fly under the radar.” Nguyen Phung, who’s better known as her cyberpunk-fashion cosplay avatar Limpidity, is also the founder of the brands Atten and D Class, which has its own impressive editorial campaigns.
Feng’s Sigmavior campaign, shot by Nguyen Anh Hao, revolves around their knitted “Helmet” crop top. “That armor protected knights for centuries,” they say, explaining how it relates to the theme of saving. It was shot at the Long Island Castle in eastern Saigon, a location popular with the Vietnamese film industry. The story follows a group of mutants in class uniforms who flex their powers. Eventually, it focuses on an outcast within the outcasts who summons a demon for protection. The titular, bat-winged Sigmavior appears in front of the terrified student body over a pentagram-styled symbol in the shape of Feng’s 7-shaped “F” icon. The Sigmavior first appeared as a print on their buckled strap hoodie from last year.
To get the shots where the models were levitating and raising cars up like dumbbells, Feng hired a technical crew with cranes to lift them into the sky. For the main image, which features a model floating toward heaven above the other students, they dangled her in the air by cables as the photographer leaned over her in a cherry picker with a spotlight. “The model said she was really excited to be up there,” they laugh.
The Feng siblings want the story to capture people’s struggles to connect amidst our modern-day chaos. “Reality is getting harder to understand,” they lament. “It feels like we’re living in a world where nothing can be relied upon.” This can lead some to extremes when trying to find and prove ourselves. But channeling that through creativity can be liberating and revolutionary. Feng is here for that.
