story / Colin Bedell
photographer / Jen Senn
“The designer strives to create a silhouette that is undefined and shifting with every step, changing appearance through variations of styling and layer, the Parkchoonmoo woman is un-bound…” reads the description for the F/W 2015 Collection of Korean Womenswear Designer Parkchoonmoo.
Once the music dropped, I was in for a powerful display. Ambitiously, Parkchoonmoo sought to materialize a collection for a woman who is “conscious of her soul’s freedom and ephemeral psychical appearance…” The were little gender boundaries; most of the looks seemed to be incredibly blurred from masculine to feminine. It was sexy, crisp, submissise, dominant, lively, and quiet – all concurrently. From a textured standpoint, Parkchoonmoo came very to close to succeeding. Designing for liberation, mobility, and expansiveness would require a blatantly higher level of innovation that was not completely obvious in the F/W 2015 Collection. Alpaca wool blends on top of more alpaca and sporadic furs and mohair is a common staple of any winter wardrobe – so I’m not convinced that the Parkchoonmoon woman is free from the normal confines of winter wear because what she was wearing seemed very “normal”.
The architecture of the layered pieces together was exceptional; over sized collars, sleeveless top coats, geometrically deconstructed clutches suggested a bold woman who is unafraid to stand in her power during the lowest temperatures. Parkchoonmoon’s play on proportion -elevating certain aspects and lowering the tops and bottoms – was her highest virtue throughout the collection and the bottom line of her narrative. Forgiving her bold intention, there was a ton of beautiful plays on the unbalanced proportions, and balanced juxtapositions. I’d be curious to see how much farther Parkchoonmoo wanted to push the boundaries of “freedom” but I guess she’d have to define what it means for her first. And then her customer.
