“The inspiration stemmed entirely from the work done at our atelier’s table,” said Rok Hwang backstage. “It was about exploring the possibilities with fabric—how we could manipulate it, whether a strip or a thread, and seeing where it would lead us.” This season, rather than just deconstructing and assembling to achieve his typical volumetric, shape-shifting configurations, Hwang concentrated on craft and handmade processes. It gave the handsome collection a more romantic flair, lighter and softer, while keeping an inventive sartorial edge.
Hwang said that his team found joy in experimenting with techniques and dyes, and that sense of levity played out throughout the collection. Delicate strips of recycled chiffon and leftover ribbons were meticulously crafted into handmade rosettes, dyed a soft pale hue with organic tea and arranged into a blooming, cocoon-like shape; they also adorned the slender jacket of a sharply tailored men’s black suit. Shirring and ruching added dimension to billowy blouse-capes in mousseline, layered over finely studded wide-leg denim, or shaped the gently curved half-moon panniers of an off-white corset paired with draped slouchy trousers. Whirls of cascading pleated ruffles, light shirred half-frocks arranged asymmetrically in an artful state of draped collapse, and short peplum crinolines bursting from tank tops conjured an edgy, romantic vibe. Despite all the poetry and whimsy, Hwang’s approach is actually rather realistic—his collaboration with H&M in April sold out in no time.
