Wooyoungmi held their Spring/Summer '24 Men & Women show inside the Theatre National de Chaill during Paris Mens Fashionweek. For the collection the designer took inspiration from the South Korean island Jeju. The European made brand constantly aims to bridge their heritage culture within the Western culture and this season taking traditional aqua shoes to the catwalk.
Collection notes:
With their natural instinct for style, the female haenyeo divers of Jeju are
recurring references on the international fashion map. Since the 17th
Century, matriarchal snorkelers, up to eighty years of age as, have
provided for their families by diving for seafood off the black rocks of the
volcanic South Korean island.
They layer their wetsuits with garments repurposed from a distinctly
feminine wardrobe, strap them in with utilitarian diving belts, and adorn
themselves with necessary goggles and masks, diving bags and nets. As the
world intensifies its focus on South Korea, Madame Woo, whose practice
traditionally gravitated towards domains foreign to her own, continues
recent seasons'e xplorations of her own culture and the global fascination
it inspires.
The Wooyoungmi Spring Summer '24 Collection makes Jeju its island muse.
From a South Korean perspective, it prompts a premise of contrasts: Jeju,
the raw and rocky coastal environment of the laborious haenyeo divers;
versus Jeju, the sunny party island adored by the nation's holidaying youth.
The juxtaposition is expressed in an oscillating silhouette that clenches
and releases from the skin. Scuba gilets, girdles, trousers and tops cut a
body-conscious line contrasted by the relaxed fit of lightweight tailoring
with little waistcoats founded in a 1980s' summertime sensibility, a
loose-fitting boyish spirit cemented in pyjama elements.
Asymmetrically-tied, second-skin tops nod at bojagi (the art of wrapping
with cloth) but materialise in beach-centric expressions evocative of
swimsuit constructions.
For Madame Woo Young Mi, who observes the connections between her own
culture and her brand's adopted European soil, the historical meeting
between South Korea and the West underpins the season narrative.
In 1628,
thirty-nine Dutchmen shipwrecked on Jeju and became the second group of
Westerners to lay eyes upon The Land of the Morning Calm.
During his time on the island, known to him as Quelpart, Hendrik Hamel
wrote the first account of the kingdom, published in Europe in 1668. The
image of the Dutchmen marooned on Joseon-era Jeju infuses the collection
with hints to the Renaissance: ruffles and ruches are imbued within the
fronts and sleeves of transparent coats, jackets and shirts, and echoed in
the cascading flares of techno trousers – while Dutch seaman's hats find
parallel expression in scuba.
Imagining the nature of Jeju through Renaissance eyes, old-world scientific
illustrations of the Nomura's jellyfish native to the waters of the island
adorn shirts, tops and the skin of models. The motifs are contemporised in
neon graphics on draped dresses and tops, some with embroidered tentacles, created in the image of the glow-in-the-dark graphics of rave culture. They
feed into a techno island party sensibility reflected in oversized tech
workwear and warped acidized denim pieces. The feeling is cemented in shiny,
glasslike or translucent materials employed in outerwear, tops, trousers and
skirts, and in glass jewellery featuring abstractions of jellyfish on
necklaces, earrings and ear cuffs, as well as sea glass pendants.
The palette of Wooyoungmi Spring Summer Collection at Paris Fashion
Week Men’s is founded in the black, brown, navy, slate, light blue and
sunset reds and pinks of the Jeju landscape, but invigorated with electric
hits of neon colours.
The collection features a technological trainer created in collaboration
with the Italian shoemaker RAL7000STUDIO. Morphing the grammar of aqua shoes
with that of techno, the trainers are forged using 3D modelling software and
AI generating, and appear in black, navy and beige. They feature alongside
sneaker hybrids of diving boots and sandals with the slightest hints of
Renaissance clogs. Leather and nylon bags inspired by those carried by the
haenyeo divers materialise in the ball shapes of their characteristic
floating devices, or in the silhouettes of half-moon nets, some veiled in
tulle overlays for aquatic effect. Pochettes, bum-bags, small leather goods
and belts draw on the utilitarian accessories traditionally attached to the
waistbands of the haenyeo.
“The worldwide fascination with my country is thrilling to me. As a South
Korean designer, I was always interested in cultures and history different
to my own: Parisian mentality, the Belle Époque, British literature. Now,
I want to portray my own culture to the rest of the world, from a South
Korean perspective. It's a way for me to reflect on our traditions through
the contemporary reality of the youth and pop cultures so distinct to our
mentality. I do it in a way that stays true to my premise: by layering it
with historical elements that bind together South Korea and my passion for
European studies. This season, that impulse comes to life in the image of
Jeju Island, with its 17th Century Dutch seafarers, its fabled female
divers, and present-day partygoers.” – Madame Woo Young Mi
Our absolute toplooks were the mesh button-up shirts with a jellyfish like prints and the sheer slightly shimmering tops. The light transparent fabrics give a similar look and feel as the movement of a the jelly fish in the sea, and the reflective lights of the sun on the sea. The jelly fish print is also seen on a cocon black tube-dress and a sleek black top, which were hightlights from the collection as well. The asymmetrically knotted second-skin tops are a beautiful reference and homage to bojagi, the art of cloth wrapping. These tops were combined with loose-fit pants and some with 3D designed sneakers, givin it a nice 00's feel.
No comments