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Kyung Hee Choi - MA Graduate Collection

Kyung Hee Choi's MA Graduate Collection showcased innovative use of shaping to attain goddess like forms of clothing. Read about the background inspiration behind the collection.

What was the inspiration behind your collection?
The main title of my collection is swirls in motion, and the working title is curvature in motion. This work goes back to mythology of Venus and the seashell on the basis of Sandro Botticelli's painting, 'The Birth of Venus, ' which bears image of Venus with themes of love and spring. The sensual goddess in his works emits an atmosphere of beauty and charm with wearing transparent, airy, fragile, and gently flowing gowns, symbolising fertility and birth at the same time. In this respect, the seashell can not only stand for the birth of Venus, but also bear that of organic life. In this collection, both the birth of a graceful goddess and the mystery of vital organism will be mainly depicted through exploring the organic shapes and fluid motions of various seashells. In particular, seashells evoke in man an aesthetic appreciation of the infinite variety of form and structure. Most importantly the organic spirals in motion and the layered structure make up the main characteristics of seashells. In this way, seashells don't only show a spiral form, which means the origin of organism, but also imply protection with the opposite natures of the layers

In addition, this collection was also inspired by a glass artist, Dale Chihuly(1941~)'s fabulous seaform series. Chihuly described his glass series as lively moving creatures with their endogenous forms and spiral surfaces imitating the movement of the sea. The luminosity and fragility of the glassworks also lie with the delicacy and elegance of goddess.
This collection is also connected with the first project, which had the swirling idea inspired by pupa. In these respects, the idea of seashells, the swirling organic form with a transparent glass feeling will be likely to provide a metaphor of the birth of goddess stirring up nostalgia.

What is your collection about?
This work embodies the birth of beautiful goddess using the mythology of Venus and the seashell. Organic movements around human body with transparent effects create the curvature of new silhouettes. It is attempt to do this by expressing organic vitality out of the seashell forms and oceanic feelings by swirls in motion, and accomplishes wearable fashion design collection. A variety of swirls made of organic shapes and curves, and the evolving waves and feminine frills will create the movement of water itself and a rhythmic sense with seashells as well as evoke the image of the floating goddess. The transparency of the fabrics will make up its luminosity and fluidity of glass as a kinetic energy does in response to light, and so the delicate and subtle groupings will create unpredictable organic forms. Thus as a pearl bears out of a seashell protecting it, a beautiful and narcissistic goddess is ready to emerge out of the garments of seashell forms in this work.

In a methodology, polyamide as a main fabric has been researched because its transparent water feelings with light were regarded as what are appropriate for so fragile and floating images as goddesses and glassworks. However, thinking of the wearability of the transparent fabric and the structure of seashells, the layered form of bulky outer and fitted inner was considered. In addition, several forms of boning and wire were researched. At the same time, other transparent fabrics, such as cotton organdie, silk organza, polyamidelamé, and several kinds of silks were also researched for discovering different potentials. For colour, the pale pink of femininity and soft feelings were considered with ivory, white, and black, which shows modern simplicity. In addition, attaching between outer and inner garments was intended to a dynamic organic movement with swirls around human body.

What is your ideal target market for your clothes?
Age target can cover from in the late 20s to in the early 40s. But I considered more my target's taste and lifestyle. My collection is for special occasional wear. Though it pursue for a simple and modern idea as a contemporary fashion, it will be appropriate as party garments of more elegant and feminine style. Therefore, my collection targets at high class customers who appreciate a couture style.

What type of mood, feel look were you looking to achieve with your collection?
Modern elegance, femininity, futurism, and fragility with geometric simplicity and dynamic movement.

What are your hopes for your entry into the fashion industry?
Individual couture designer group for more directional & modern elegance

What does fashion mean to you?
A kind of change on the basis of the cycle of innovation and compliance, so everything can become fashion as the periodic appropriation.

Kyung won the Incentive prize as a UK winner in cocours international des Jeunes Createurs de mode in Paris by association pour l'organisation du cocours international des Jeunes Createurs de mode on 16 Dec 2004.

Hyung can be contacted at: samchi28@hotmail.com

go back to MA Graduate Collection Article

Read interview with Devender Kharb