SHANGHAI — “Something fierce is going to happen,” said a leopard drag queen seated front row at Windowsen’s Shanghai runway show on the eve of Halloween. The comment was followed by a collective shriek, as the scene of the runway was unveiled — a cyberpunk universe where Honey Balenciaga, the American dancer and voguing diva, was seen trapped inside a hollow tube about 3 meters above the ground.
A pro at creating cinematic moments with shock value, Windowsen founder and Chinese designer Sensen Lii took over the sleek industrial venue that is Shanghai’s Modern Art Museum and turned it into a dystopian underworld.
The collection, titled “Mission X: Windowsen Hybrid Interface Project 2026,” marks the return of the theatrical and sporty-couture aesthetic of Lii, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp who went on to dress the likes of Cardi B, Katy Perry, all four members of Blackpink, and more.
“It’s called Mission X because it’s a continuation of my love of retro-futurism. It’s also because I wanted to poke fun at myself — I would never have been able to do the show by myself,” said Lii in an exclusive interview, alluding to the sponsor behind the show — Nike.
Tasked with creating a full-blown runway show within the span of around 50 days, Lii drew on his love of sci-fi and escapism fashion to design an immersive space set up as an “alien laboratory,” flanked by crashed spacecraft.
As his first Nike collaboration, Lii designed two sneaker models that reimagined the Air Max Muse as if “Space Opera” and “Aliens” had a baby.
The sneakers, which dropped on Nike’s Snkrs app and at selected retailers on Saturday, quickly sold out online.
Windowsen’s recreation of Nike’s Air Max Muse.
Courtesy
A host of characters, including drag queens, influencers and atypical models, appeared on the runway in energetic walks that flaunted Lii’s dramatic knee-high silicone boots, loud clubwear, rhine-stoned hoodies, and deconstructed motorcycle jackets.
Lii’s blend of cyberpunk sensibility and a high-octane color palette cuts through the noise on social media and taps into Chinese consumers’ sustained interest in escapism fashion, in this case the Y3K aesthetic, which is said to have originated on Xiaohongshu, China‘s popular social commerce platform, in 2024.
Beyond Y3K, other forms of escapist expression, such as the rich baby girl style and New Chinese style, are emerging as influential cultural tribes on Chinese social media.
However, building a sturdy narrative around the futuristic style was not enough for Lii, who also decided to invest a small fortune to create the ideal Y3K footwear to match.
Lii’s silicone boots, featuring a blend of organic forms and Japanese anime–inspired robotic aesthetics, are some of his proudest creations so far, refined over the course of three years. He admitted to having spent “too much money” perfecting the right silicone mixture for the translucent boots, but the result was exactly what he envisioned — evoking an abstract aura around the foot.
shaw
“It has different movable joints, but it can’t be too soft, so the structure still needs some adjustment,” said Lii, who made around 20 pairs of boots for the show. “The shoes are actually quite fragile and require a special trolley case — which alone costs over 2,000 renminbi [$280],” he added.
Lii, who works with a team of 12 in the outskirts of Shanghai, currently operates without wholesale partners but maintains a breakeven business through the brand’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform and made-to-order model.
For Lii, the freedom to create experimental garments may not be the most commercially sensible path, but “being myself,” he said, is worth the trade-off.
The Windowsen collaboration is the second local design partnership Nike has launched this year. In September, the activewear giant hosted a pop-up at Shanghai’s Fotografiska to celebrate its collaboration with Chinese designer Susan Fang. Known for her deeply romantic yet refreshing take on femininity, Fang recreated the Nike Dunk with hand-beaded bubble elements and floral motifs.
Both Fang and Lii participated in Nike’s Victory Lap show during Shanghai Fashion Week last April. The track-themed runway also featured standout looks created in collaboration with Mark Gong and Ao Yes, both highlights of the spring 2026 edition of Shanghai Fashion Week.
