Kwak Hyun Joo Spring 2017 – Seoul Fashion Week

Label: Kwak Hyun Joo (곽현주)

Spring/Summer 2017 collection title: “Cats in the Jungle”

Our take: Kwak Hyun Joo has established herself as one of the best fashion designers in South Korea, but her collections have ventured into more youthful and kitschy territory since her artistic Fall 2015 “Laboratory of Observation” collaboration with photographer Kwon Young Ho.  The cat in question for Spring 2017 is not inspired from the proliferation of Internet memes, but her own 15-year-old pet Nadia, who for some reason takes an imaginary adventure to Hawaii.  Not necessarily a destination that one considers with the mention of the word “jungle,” and that perhaps contributed to the visual dissonance of Kwak’s latest collection.  Loud stripes and floral prints clashed in pieces with one too many mixed materials, hiding cuts in what appeared to be a rather plodding tropical journey for poor Nadia.

Official website: http://www.kwakhyunjoo.com/

Video: Kwak Hyun Joo Spring 2017 – Seoul Fashion Week
video by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine

Photos: Kwak Hyun Joo Spring 2017 – Seoul Fashion Week
all photos by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine