Eudon Choi Womenswear Spring/Summer 2013

Born in Korea, Eudon Choi initially trained as a menswear designer in Seoul before moving to London to enrol in the MA Womenswear course at the Royal College of Art. He was hired as a senior designer at British high-street retailer All Saints a year before graduation and his graduate collection was sold at London’s Dover Street Market. In 2008 he became a senior designer at Twenty8Twelve before leaving in 2009 to launch his eponymous label.He set up his eponymous label in 2009 and in 2010 he was selected as one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Ones to Watch. In September 2011 he was invited by Anna Wintour and Franca Sozzani to present his Spring/Summer 2012 collection at Milan Fashion Week in honour of the Vogue Fashion Fund. That same year, he was awarded with the Samsung Fashion and Design Fund, and the LYCRA®Style Emerging Talent Award at the WGSN Global Fashion Awards in New York. He debuted at London Fashion Week in February 2012 with his ‘Terra Nova’ collection. 

To display his collection for Spring/Summer 2013 as part of London Fashion Week’s official calendar, Choi opted for an intimate salon show. With the title ‘Space Oddity’, the range of garments combined influences from science fiction and films, namely Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968) and Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Blow Up’ (1966), and investigated the romantic take on futurism as engendered by 1960s popular cultural interpretations of what the twenty-first century would look like.

Minimalist and clean lines were emphasised by full silhouettes while including signature contrasting fabric blocks of textures and colours. In addition, iridescent culottes with a sporty feel contrasted with elegant patent leather raincoats updated with dimpled lurex and exaggerated box cut tees adorned with bold geometric beading. Neoprene skirts featured in a variety of colour comonations, and a knee-length white patent leather dress was chequered to the waist with florescent orange disks. White was a prevalent hue in garments such as a cocoon coat and a dress in a textured three-dimensional mesh, and cobalt blue could be seen in cigarette trousers and in the trims of wrap skirts and dresses. A range of Perspex heeled shoes designed in collaboration with Joanne Stoker added a sci-fi feel to the collection.

For The Style Examiner, this was one of the strongest collections shown during the inaugural day of London Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2013. Ultimately, there was nothing of the oddity about the collection. In fact, a small and wondrous odyssey was witnessed and lauded by those present.