Future is a magical word that always carries with it dreams, hopes and imagination.

As the ancients could not imagine what modern people look like, we are unable to guess what life humans will live in the future.

Yet there must be some optimistic possibilities that people will become more powerful or intelligent.

Chinese designer Zhou Xiangyu transformed his whimsical ideas about the future into new menswear, shown recently at the 2019 Spring/Summer London Men's Fashion Week.

For this series, Zhou found his muse in both traditional Chinese myths and Western popular culture.

During the runway show, a model appeared in an oversized olive trenchcoat with four fake arms arranged like a fan on his back.

This was inspired by the Chinese protection god Nezha, who could transform into an almighty body with three heads and six arms.

Zhou expected men of the future could be like all-powerful as deities and have multiple abilities

Other inspiration came from HBO's Westworld, a TV series about a future world when robots and humans live together.

In Zhou's mind, men of the future could also give birth to children, as a model in his show exposed a fake enlarged belly in a creamy yellow jacket.

Established as Xander Zhou in Beijing in 2007, Zhou belongs to the post-1980 generation who were influenced by both Chinese and Western culture.

Many entertainment celebrities have worn his designs on the red carpet, including Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Li Yuchun.

Contact writer at lihongrui@chinadaily.com.cn