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Fashion

Breaking the Rules with PRISCAVera

September 11, 2023

In PRISCAVera's world, many things can exist at once. A woman can be both sexy and powerful — and neither of those things have to cancel each other out. Because why should they? The Priscavera girl can do it all with ease — and she’ll do it wearing a metallic pink mini-dress just because she can.

Designer Prisca Vera Franchetti has never shied away from the daring or the absurd. Her collections consistently present the provocative, yet she has found a precise balance between provoking and effortlessly wearable. For her Spring/Summer 2024 offerings, Prisca still wanted to champion her signature through the line, though this particular collection was inspired by not only breaking some rules but all of them.

Interview by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Runway photos by Gregoire Avenel

There are certain fashion standards we pick up as we mature, straying far from the naive wonder we maintain as children. Think “no white after Labor Day” or “avoid print-matching to avoid excess.” But in Prisca’s world, she makes the rules. Presented through an array of skintight mini dresses, metallic mini skirt sets, slip dresses, and velour galore, Prisca brings us into that world.

office spoke with the designer post-show about her affinity for rule-breaking, her favorite looks, and more.

What is the inspiration behind this collection?

Every season we really care about the models and the customers feeling really empowered and good about themselves — and sexy really. At the beginning of this design process, we thought about last season and how we could bring this empowered person into the summer. The beginning of this inspiration started from looking at a lot of photo albums and childhood souvenirs. Also, a lot of stories from friends and family of their first fashion memories when they were five or six. You know, exploring these clothes that you have when you're very little and how they kind of stay with you. Wearing orange with pink — bright colors with energy. I think it's about when you are a kid and you are exploring yourself and who you want to be — finding your style. There is something really interesting about bringing those challenges and rebellious decisions into adulthood, breaking the codes basically. A lot of times we're told, 'You can't wear this in the office,' or 'That's not age-appropriate.' So this collection is about identifying your own standards that you want to kind break free from. It's very personal.

I was going to ask, since you talked about the photos and speaking to close friends and family. So you would say this is a more personal collection compared to those of the past?

Definitely. I think the process coming from this idea of breaking codes means a lot to me. It was even about when we were picking colors — instead of going for a safer option, we said, 'Let's put all of these colors together. Let's go for it.' And then we just figured out things along the way. Which is often how you feel about life. You just totally do it and then figure out the rest later. We have to 'make things work' all the time.

You’ve mentioned before that you embrace the absurd in your creative process. How does this collection convey that?

Well, I think absurdity is just part of contemporary life, really. Today is just an absurd time. And I think that, if anything, this season was about celebration. And it touches everybody, even the people who don't necessarily want to attach meaning to it. This season was more about breaking free, it was about adventure and freedom, and breaking free from even labeling things as absurd, if that makes any sense.

What is your favorite look from this collection and why?

I'd wear every look. I like the purple looks a lot. I like things that you can mix and match. I love a lot of the denim, which can be played into day and night. I loved the mesh snake as well.

BTS photos by Elisabeth Wirjia

Fashion

Full Circle with Kim Shui

September 11, 2023

Kim Shui always knows how to honor the figure of the woman. She’s debuted collections time and time again that adorn the female form in lacy frocks, slinky mesh prints, and sexy cutouts that encourage wearers to dare outside of their comfort zone. But for the designer’s Spring/Summer 2024 Collection, titled 999, these flamboyant pieces were more than just a celebration of divine feminism, but a celebration of the woman that Shui has become herself.

Growing up Chinese-American in Italy, there were many times were Kim Shui felt like not “enough” of anything — an outlier in a world that denotes many concepts in black and white. But it wasn’t until later in Shui’s life that she discovered the power of feeling different. Just like she has taught her devoted onlookers to love the bits of themselves that have been labeled by society, many times over, to conceal, she has not taught herself how to love even the most complicated parts of herself — weaponizing the idea of “otherness.”

Interview by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Photos by Momo Charlton

Exploring the ornate, the hyperfeminine, and motifs or vibrant patterns that are considered to be “oriental,” and owning them in her own personal way, Shui presents a jewel-toned color-explosion of a collection, wrapped up in taffeta, silk ribbons, and lace. The collection, which features a range of sultry corset and bloomer sets, elegant slips, and seductive sequined minis, also includes the use of a heritage textile called Mud Silk, a 100% biodegradable textile with a 2,500-year tradition in Southeast China derived from the Ming dynasty. The resource is dyed using natural dye from the anti-microbial Chinese Yam, bringing the collection full circle and honoring the upbringing that has shaped Shui into the powerful woman and artist she is today.

office spoke to Shui post-show to discuss this newfound power she has settled into, the Roman mythology and heritage cultural traditions that inspired key elements, and her affinity for never taking the runway too seriously.

What is the inspiration behind this collection?

I was inspired by two artists I really love — Hannah Lim and Faye Wei Wei. Hannah explores a lot of the same themes I do — taking elements like chinoiserie and turning the viewpoint on them, flipping the idea that the ornamental (which is associated with femininity and the oriental) and thought of as negative instead into sources of joy. Also if you look at the fabrics — they’re Chinese embroidered silks, there’s also a heritage fabric called Mud Silk in the collection, and it’s mixed with figure hugging silhouettes and shaped waist power suits. Lace, sequins, tulle, explosive colors — I wanted to highlight these for the collection.

Which look was your favorite to work on?

Look 1 was crazy to work on because when I had originally draped it the shape it was perfect and organic and felt just right — I hadn’t fully finished it yet though so there were just pins and we tried the unfinished version on the models to fit but then the drape moved and I couldn’t get the same shape again. So I spent another good 5 hours the night before the show getting the original look back and making sure it was properly finished. I refused to stop working on it until I got it right.

How have you learned to weaponize the idea of “otherness” through your craft?

I think it’s to emphasize those themes even more in my collections and turn them into items of celebration.

Fashion

Concept Korea Returns for its 13th Year

September 11, 2023

Concept Korea will present collections from three designers tomorrow during NYFW, returning for its 13th year. MMAM, Kimmy.J, and C HARM'S have been selected as the brands to be spotlighted by the initiative for the Spring/Summer 24 season. Founded in 2010 in collaboration with Korea Creative Content Agency and New York Fashion Week, Concept Korea aims to uplift a new group of promising designers from the Korean community each season.

The themes and inspirations for these three collections range from family and childhood to the Earth and human nature to karma, chakras, and spiritual wellness. MMAM’s collection, by designer Hyun Park, emphasizes uninhibited play and creative curiosity, with a line that is notably unisex and sizeless. Designers Jenny Kim and Haeun Lee of Kimmy.J meditate on the importance of rest and realignment in their line, which melds urban wear and athletic wear for practicality and style. Yohan Kang of CHARM’s has created a collection that is at once anachronistic and futuristic, inspired by sonder and the vastness and cruelty of the Earth.

Interview by Samuel Getachew
Photos courtesy of Concept Korea

Ahead of their show, office got the inside scoop from the designers of all three brands about what we can expect to see from them this season. Read our conversation below.

What element or design feature from the collection you will present in this show are you the most excited to share?

Jenny Kim and Haeun Lee (Kimmy.J)— Our collection is based on the concept of ”Singularity of Chakras,“ and pockets and bags using curves, the shape of singularities, are vital items. This detail can be styled by combining small bags into one crossbody bag or by mounting it anywhere in one small bag. The design is also matched with cargo pants or tops as the collection’s signature. It connects the city look – our collection concept – and the natural fit yoga look in meditation.

Hyun Park (MMAM)— The SS24 collection is characterized by a pattern that feels like being dressed in a collection inspired by unconscious behavior, [such as our] signature Doodle Drawing Blazer completed with our brand logo. I am excited to showcase a fabric developed with a doodle drawing stitch overlaid on linen.

Yohan Kang (CHARM’S)— The theme of this collection is "A New Look in Harmony." It showcases a modern style by combining various designs and mixing fabrics to create harmony. This collection also emphasizes hidden details, revealing different charms hidden within zippers and slits, incorporating our renewed logos throughout, adding an element of fun in discovering them in each piece.

If your brand was a universe, what would it look like? Who lives there?

Jenny Kim and Haeun Lee (Kimmy.J)— Everyone in our universe is their own planet. All of their spiritual acts, their ideas, radiate into energy, merge into a singularity in our universe, and that energy blooms back into the chakra in us living on the planet.

Hyun Park (MMAM)— Only art and artists live in this universe and no one else.

Yohan Kang (CHARM’S)— Confident and radiant individuals who know their self worth.

How did you approach bringing your brand to New York for fashion week? Are there any influences or connections to New York in your collection?

Jenny Kim and Haeun Lee (Kimmy.J)— Our brand’s design items are inspired by the actions modern people take for their physical and spiritual health - exercise, pleasant meals, conversation, self-expression, work, dance, song, etc. In particular, tank tops, leggings, layered denim, and linen items connected directly to daily life, from joggers to yoga looks, are the main items affected by the quintessential New Yorker. These designs are reborn through collaboration with [visual] artists.

Hyun Park (MMAM)— My thesis was inspired by the abstract artist Cy Twombly, and I developed embroidery and signature fabric through this thesis. I really wanted to come and showcase my collection in the city where the artist who inspired me most created his art and was so beloved.

Yohan Kang (CHARM’S)— This collection aims to highlight the diversity and aesthetics of New York, and emphasize its visibility in the global market. We present a fresh perspective on Charm’s in New York City, a city where people of various backgrounds coexist harmoniously.