Lim Feng

Lim Feng on Art, Structure, and Becoming FENG. An Interview by 713 Magazine.

Lim Feng didn’t learn fashion through formulas or tradition. She built her world through vision, instinct, and repetition, shaping FENG SYSTEM with her brother from a small studio in Ho Chi Minh City. What began as an experiment became a language. Over time the brand evolved from structure to system, from concept to code.

Her clothes don’t chase perfection. They search for proportion, emotion, and presence, garments designed to alter the person who wears them. FENG SYSTEM exists in that tension between machinery and sensuality, where precision feels human and beauty becomes a kind of control.

Every image, every cut, every detail is deliberate. What started as two siblings learning how to make clothes has turned into a living archive of discipline and intuition. For Lim Feng the work isn’t about trends or chaos, but about translating vision into form, to build something that can survive its own evolution.

Below she speaks with 713 Magazine about identity, process, and the art of becoming FENG.

What did the name FENG SYSTEM mean to you when you first created it, and what does it mean now?

FENG SYSTEM was founded by two siblings. Our family name is “Phùng” (in Vietnamese), so I used FENG as our international brand name. The term FENG SYSTEM was originally my younger brother’s idea. Today, we use simply FENG more often. It has also become my stage name and creative identity.

Was the word system about control, repetition, or freedom?

I think it leans toward an ideal of having a system, a structured vision rather than pure control or freedom.

How did your experience as a model shape your understanding of structure and presence?

With my experience being both in front of and behind the camera, I’ve learned that the proportions of a garment directly affect the wearer’s vision and presence. My job is to make those proportions feel almost surreal, at their most raw, primal state.

You seem to design not just garments but entire identities. What do you think clothes can reveal that words cannot?

I’m a visual artist. To me, an image can replace a thousand words. I see clothing as a medium to connect with the collective subconscious. When garments meet body shape, styling, and energy, even an ordinary person can become an extraordinary character, something words could never capture. Like an actor slipping into a role, my work is to decode that transformation.

How does an idea begin for you — with texture, silhouette, or emotion?

It always starts with a big idea, a few keywords, and usually, an emotional trigger.

What attracts you to the space between machinery and sensuality?

People once labeled me as a techwear or cyberpunk girl, and I used to reject that. Until I realized I could do it more effortlessly than others. It’s a kind of innate talent. So I learned to love it, to refine it, to make it softer, more sensual, more fashionable.

FENG SYSTEM feels like more than a fashion label — it’s an operating system for how to exist. Was that intentional or something that evolved naturally?

We started simply because we loved fashion, without knowing how to make clothes. It was naïve at first. But now, I live by creating new visions, concepts, and garments every day. My brother encouraged me to merge my personal artistic vision with the brand. That’s when everything became both natural and powerful.

How do you translate the physical world of your studio into the digital spaces where most people experience your brand?

I’m a visual artist, so this process feels almost instinctive to me. Each project usually takes 7–10 days to complete. My formula is simple: I put myself in the role of the designer — the founder of FENG — to create the visual brief. Then I step into the role of the creative director of the FENG campaign to receive that same brief and bring every image in my mind to life.

What does it mean to you when people interpret your visuals and mirror them back through their own art?

I believe artists exist to leave resources and legacies, and then they disappear. I love drawing from the pop culture of those before me and opening new creative pathways for those who come after. That’s how both technology and art evolve.

When you’re not creating, where does your mind go?

I have quite severe ADHD, which means my mind keeps creating even when I’m not trying to. And when I do create, I often drift off halfway through (LOL). Honestly, if I ever get the chance, I just want to sleep.

When you think about the next chapter, what must change and what must remain unchanged for the system to evolve?

We’re living in a chaotic world, both online and offline. Every rule and every plan can shift overnight. So for me, the core is simple: keep making clothes, and keep refining the craft of construction and design.

Southeast Asian fashion is having a global moment. What are you trying to say about place and identity through FENG SYSTEM that you feel the world is ready to hear now?

We’re searching for a global community that truly resonates with the brand, and I want to connect with them personally.

There is a recurring dialogue between swim, lingerie, and tailored structure in your shop. What is the through line that connects a leather bikini, a playsuit, and a structured dress in your universe?

You know, I simply think about this: if someone loves the image I create, what would they wear all year, through every occasion? I design wardrobes through the seasons — Resort, Pre-Fall, Fall/Winter — all built around my own ideas and universe.

In the recent collection you revisited prints like Gothic Gate and introduced new items like the Sunset Dress and Dark Night Leather Bikini. How do you balance introducing new forms while staying true to your brand’s language?

I believe that if I keep cultivating a deep artistic archive, I can always evolve from within. Loyalty, to me, lives in aesthetics and taste. When your taste is clear, you instinctively know when to say yes or no to other aesthetics, and that’s what defines your brand’s language.

What inspires you most right now outside of fashion?

I think it’s the pain of the young generation.

How do you want people to feel when they wear your designs?

I don’t think too much about how they should feel. Instead, I’m curious about how they choose to wear it.

What keeps you grounded when everything around you is moving fast?

Between chasing others or becoming interesting on my own terms, I always choose the second.

If everything you’ve built disappeared tomorrow, what part of FENG SYSTEM would still live inside you?

My view is that if something falls apart, it’s just an opportunity to rebuild it stronger. If FENG disappeared, a Neo FENG would be born.

FENG SYSTEM’s Resort 26 expands the brand’s ongoing study of form and feeling. The collection moves between structure and sensuality, balancing sharp tailoring with fluid movement. It carries the same quiet tension that defines Lim Feng’s world, disciplined yet instinctive, controlled yet human.

Explore the full FENG SYSTEM Resort 26 collection at fengsystem.co/collections/all.