Professor E & Troubled Waters: How One's Vision Sparks a Brand

In today’s fashion landscape, where style often blurs into sameness, it’s rare to see a single vision spark an entire universe of its own. One of those rare examples is Professor E.

Ken’s journey began with a simple passion: collecting extraordinary fabrics and transforming them into one-off garments. Through Forgotten Materials—a premium line under Professor E—he gave deadstock fabrics a new life. Each piece carried texture, history, and character. These weren’t just clothes to wear; they were garments to cherish.

When we visited him in Paris, Ken offered a glimpse into his world. His collection was displayed alongside antique furniture sourced from local secondhand shops exclusively for his showroom. One chair, he explained, dated back to the 16th century, and he intended to ship it back to Taiwan once the showroom ended. Then, almost offhandedly, he pulled out a garment from the Forgotten Materials line. “This one’s taking forever to finish,” he admitted with a smile, noting that the fabric treatment had been done by his own mother.

This blend of antique collecting, traditional craft, and personal storytelling naturally shapes the Professor E aesthetic. The brand fuses Baroque and Rococo influences with Ken’s Taiwanese roots—Western patterns meeting Asian silhouettes. The result feels like a kind of reverse-orientalism: not a Western fantasy of the East, but an Eastern reimagining of antique Western beauty.

In 2024, Ken partnered with a new label: Troubled Waters. This time, he stepped back, handing the creative reins to Polo Cheng.

You might recognize Polo from YouTube or his role as Editor-in-Chief at Sabukaru. Today, though, he’s carving his own space in the creative industry. In 2023, he co-founded WENI Agency & Showroom, expanding beyond content into brand development.

As a content creator, Polo explored curated vintage, designer histories, and the creative undercurrents of global fashion capitals. He introduced many to avant-garde designers like Carol Christian Poell, Hussein Chalayan, and Julius, sparking dialogue around experimental design and the storytelling potential of clothing.

With Troubled Waters, Polo channels deeply personal references—childhood memories, manga like GTO, and archival garments he’s collected and reworked over time. Instead of traditional fashion seasons, the brand unfolds in ACTs, like chapters of a novel. Each ACT builds upon the last, continuing a story rather than resetting it.