The future will be a Y-shaped dystopia
Chang Kwnag-hyo’s glittery silver suit.
Designers bring the future to today’s fashion
Chang Kwang-hyo, a designer famous for his appearances on a hit TV show, expresses the future with glittery garments, while Song Hye-myeong utilizes golden accessories to envision the future. The degree of futuristic glitter also varied among designers. Kim Gyu-sik showed clothes that had an accentuated luster, whereas Chang Kwang-hyo’s designs sparkled under the lights.
The rather relaxed silhouette was also noticeable at the Seoul Collection. Designers seem to be moving away from the current “skinny” look craze, toward a more comfortable, loose design. This was especially apparent in pants. Designers Song Ja-in and Song Hye-myeong presented pants that were baggy above the knees and tight below. Blue and red were the dominant colors in their shows.
Kim Gyu-sik’s suit, inspired by a combat-jacket.
Chang Kwang-hyo chose “50, Futurism” as the title for his show, which was based upon the idea of a sensual future. Chang turned 50 this year and he says he regards this as only the mid-point of his life. As such, he wanted to show clothes that he thinks will be fashionable over the next 50 years. His show started with a model in a glittery silver suit.
“Glitter,” symbolizing space and stars, is the key theme in futurism. “I initially didn’t have a lot of glittery items in my designs. I decided to incorporate futurism into my usually-clean-cut style with silver suits,” Chang explained. In the show he matched a black suit with glittery footwear.
The Present and the Future
“The trend seems to be moving toward futurism. However, it is only the materials that are futuristic. The underlying theme is still naturalism,” says Song Hye-myeong, the creator of “Dominic’s Way.” Dominic is a creation of the designer’s unusual imagination. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones is one of the motifs. Through the portrayal of Dominic’s daily routine, Song illustrates the different stages of a boy growing into a man. Motivated by London’s street fashion, her collection includes pants that fall loosely around the thighs, but fit tightly from the knees to the feet. This is the so-called “Y-Look.” Song uses tiger-skin and zebra patterns on jackets and mufflers to give a naturalistic look. The “Y-Look” pants are apparent in her women’s collection as well. Her customers say they like her designs because they free the body from tight, constraining clothes.
Song Hye-myeong’s casual wear.
Kim Gyu-sik envisions a depressing future. His collection visualized a dystopian future world through his theme, “War with robots.” He decorated the stage as a city destroyed after wars with robots. Accordingly, battle-jacket-like designs were the main feature of his collection. Interestingly, unlike the strong, tough imagery, the materials used were mostly comfortable cotton. “Frail-looking models in combat jackets show that the situation calls for everyone to partake in wars with robots,” Kim said. Long knitted shirts and comfortable pants were matched with the combat jackets, creating a jarring dialectic between each garment, so whatever might be happening between men and robots the clothes are certainly at war with each other.
Futurism
Futurism is an art movement that started in Italy in the early 20th century. Its proponents admired the speed and punctuality of the machine civilization. In the 1930s the legendary Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli engraved images of the sun and moon to express the vast universe. The era of futurism in the fashion industry kicked off in 1969 when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. Glittery and silver materials appeared with greater frequency on fashion items. Enamel, satin and metallic materials were widely appreciated. This futurism from the 1960s is rapidly becoming a trend once again.
Song Ja-in’s Y-look pants.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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