PRIVATE POLICY was born in downtown New York-not just geographically, but ideologically. The brand, created by Haoran Li, exists at the intersection of activism and fashion, crafting collections that reflect the complexity of identity in a world that’s constantly shifting. At its core, PRIVATE POLICY is a label grounded in community—a label that sees clothes as a tool for conversation.
The brand has become known for its genderless silhouettes and utilitarian sensibility, but there’s more beneath the surface: each collection is shaped by a social topic, whether it's systemic injustice, environmental urgency, or the ever-evolving language of queerness. Their garments, often featuring tactical elements, sharp tailoring, and fluid draping, feel both of- the - moment and deeply personal—an open invitation to self-expression, outside of binaries.
What makes PRIVATE POLICY resonate is its authenticity. The brand isn’t chasing trends or making vague gestures toward inclusivity; it’s part of a generation of designers who are actually living the values they reflect in their work. Their commitment to sustainability is matched by their commitment to storytelling, with each piece offering a kind of wearable thesis on where fashion can (and should) go next. In a landscape increasingly saturated with aesthetics, PRIVATE POLICY offers a point of view.
Can We Be Friends?
The question sounds deceptively simple: Can we be friends? Yet in a season where humanity and technology grow closer by the hour, emotional connections feel increasingly charged, almost fragile. PRIVATE POLICY takes this tension as its starting point, imagining a future where connection might be rewired and where friendship itself could extend beyond the human.
The collection opens with echoes of familiar American archetypes: the freedom of the Bohemian spirit, the resilience of denim, the utility of workwear, the optimism of preppy style. Symbols born of community and belonging are undone and reassembled through fabrics that gesture toward the unknown. Protective weaves soften into dresses as light as air. Silicone textures reimagine the polka dot into something uncanny and new. Piqué is pulled and reshaped into shirred polos. Sheer technical cloths are sculpted into jackets that hover between strength and transparency. In this shifting language, what was once ordinary takes on a second life as Future-Tech Americana.
BAOBAO’s movements are precise, their presence unmistakably real, yet their meaning remains unsettling. They appear not as spectacle but as companions in a story about trust, intimacy, and unease. Can a machine carry emotion? Can it offer friendship? Between awe and apprehension, attraction and doubt, the encounter asks us to navigate a bond without precedent.
PRIVATE POLICY does not seek to close the circle. The collection leaves the audience suspended in the question, listening for its resonance in their own hearts. If intelligence can be programmed to understand us, is it still only machinery? If friendship stretches to include what we once called artificial, does it not also stretch the very meaning of being human? On this runway in New York, the conversation is not resolved. It is alive.
