Terrence Zhou’s flower sits inside a translucent, egg-shaped balloon — hot-pink petals and an acid-green stem, softened by the plastic until they blur, in the colors of a corner-store sweet. Born in China and based in New York, Zhou is the designer behind Bad Binch TongTong, a fashion label known for ballooning dresses, octopus skirts, and mermaid tails. He studied math before fashion, which might explain his mastery of geometric shapes.

Here you can make out the flower but never quite see it. The shell holds it just out of focus, like a specimen you’re not allowed to touch and barely allowed to look at. A clear photograph of a flower is one thing, but this one evokes memory and feeling.