Five years after founding the label, Terrence Zhou continues to redefine the fashion industry with his one-of-a-kind designs.&nbsp;

PHOTOGRAPHY Jacq Harriet
STYLED BY Trinidad Alamos

Terrence Zhou, who also goes by Tong, has yet to meet Rihanna. But when he does, he’ll have the perfect icebreaker thanks to the origins of his brand name, Bad Binch TongTong. “When I was in school, I was a rebel and always challenged my professors,” says Zhou. “My classmates had a lot of fun with me, because they loved watching the drama. They used to say I was such a bad bitch and that if Rihanna's Instagram was @badgalriri, then mine should be @BadBinchTongTong.” Knowing the word bitch would be moderated on Instagram, Tong deliberately changed the spelling to binch.
The name stuck. So did the Wuhan native’s rebellious nature, which has no doubt contributed to his success in the fashion industry. An innate desire to lean into what he loved from a very young age—consuming Japanese manga, painting, and drawing for 8 to 10 hours a day—led him to pursue his passions (art and design) rather than his skill sets (mathematics and engineering), and with compelling results. In less than five years and without a single fashion internship, his brand scored a spot in the 2026 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and has had countless viral editorial moments, including Lady Gaga in a custom feather dress, Kim Kardashian in a lily headpiece, and Cardi B in a pink lace number.

Zhou’s work is guided by intuition rather than convention. “A lot of times I don’t sketch or follow a very linear design process; it’s just a thought or impulsive idea that I can usually see before it’s even completed. I follow those instincts and I never doubt them. I think that’s the special part.”
Also special is Zhou’s ability—and intention—to stand apart. When asked what defines his brand’s place in New York’s fashion scene, the Parsons and Central Saint Martins grad—who is also a Latin ballroom dancer—puts it simply: disruption. “We definitely disrupt a lot of traditional worldviews to show people what is possible when it comes to being a fashion designer and an artist or something in between,” he says. “I like to put myself between boxes because once you put yourself in a box, you can never think outside [it].”
As for what’s next for Zhou and Bad Binch TongTong, the goal extends far beyond another celebrity placement or viral moment. “This year we are doing something bigger,” he says. “Our nonprofit status just got approved, and we now have a separate entity called Good Binch. This is a very long-term project, and right now we’re working with corporations to create public arts installations. Slowly, we’ll start bringing artists together to create surreal, out-of-this-world immersive experiences, and eventually we want to tour those performance acts around the world. We envision it becoming the next Burning Man in 20 years.” Perhaps that future meeting with Rihanna isn’t as far off as he thinks.

MODELS: Naina Agorot MARILYN NEW YORK and Lola Bebe THE INDUSTRY MODEL MANAGEMENT
HAIR: Ginger Leigh Ryan using ROZ HAIR
MAKEUP: Sophie Hartnett using MAC COSMETICS
MANICURE: Mamie Onishi SEE MANAGEMENT using CHANEL BEAUTY
PRODUCED BY: Emily Adar
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Juan Cuartas Rueda and Evan Odiorn

Inside the World of Bad Binch TongTong

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