FALL WINTER 2022 CO-ED COLLECTION

INSPIRED BY THE SHIFTING LANDSCAPE OF MOSCOW IN THE 1920s, THE WOOYOUNGMI FALL-WINTER 2022 COLLECTION CARRIES AN ATMOSPHERE OF NOSTALGIA AND OLD GLAMOUR, REVITALISED BY THE MODERN ELEGANCE INHERENT TO THE HOUSE. AS IN THE LAST SEASON, EARLY INSPIRATION STEMS FROM A WORK OF LITERATURE—AMOR TOWLES’ 2016 NOVEL <A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW>—AND IS SUPPORTED BY ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS REFLECTIVE OF THE EPOCH.

THE COLLECTION’S KEY COLOURS COMPRISE OF JEWEL-TONED GREEN, PINK, ORANGE, AND BLUE, A PALETTE DERIVED FROM THE ICONIC SAINT BASIL’S CATHEDRAL. FASTENED TOGETHER AT THE FRONT, SCARVES LIKE MINI CAPES SERVE AS A CONTEMPORARY TAKE ON MONASTIC HEADDRESSES. WHILE CERTAIN PIECES SUCH AS THE BALACLAVA ARE DRAWN FROM PREVIOUS SEASONS, FRESH SILHOU-ETTES—INCLUDING CROPPED KNITWEAR AND JACKETS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, AS WELL AS PANTS TUCKED INTO BOOTS—ARE NEWLY INTRODUCED.

ABUTTING THE MORE FORMAL AND ARISTOCRATIC ELEMENTS IS A BLURRED TACTILITY THAT PAYS HOMAGE TO THE EARLY COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY OF SERGEI MIKHAILOVICH PRODUKIN-GORSKII. COMMIS-SIONED BY TSAR NIKOLAI II IN 1909, PRODUKIN-GORSKII CAPTURED SCENES OF LIFE FROM ACROSS THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, NOW IMMORTALISED IN PHOTOGRAPHS BEARING THE TRACES OF TIME AND TECHNICAL IMPERFECTION. MELANGE FABRIC MIMICS THE COLOUR FRINGING IN THESE WORKS, FAVOURING A MULTI-COLOURED RATHER THAN EVEN TONE. DENIM BUTTON-UPS AND PANTS SPORT A TIE-DYE EFFECT WHILE COLOUR-BLOCKED KNITWEAR DISPLAYS UNEVEN LINES, BOTH RECALLING THE UNINTENTIONAL ARTEFACTS AND SMUDGING FOUND IN OLD PRINTS.

WHERE THIS SEASON’S LITERARY PREMISE TRULY BLOOMS IS IN THE SHOW’S DECOR. THE NOVEL FOLLOWS A RUSSIAN COUNT WHO, DESPITE A LIFE SENTENCE OF HOUSE ARREST IN A HOTEL, FINDS WITHIN LIMITED CONFINES AN EXISTENCE BLESSED WITH TRUE HUMAN CONNECTION. A CENTURY LATER, IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY STILL REDEFINING ITS NEW REALITY, HUMAN CONNECTION HAS BECOME A MOST PRECIOUS LUXURY NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. ON A RUNWAY-TURNED-ENFILADE, MODELS ARE FACED WITH A SERIES OF DOORS THAT BOTH SPARK AND ELEVATE THE MOMENT OF ENCOUNTER. STAGED, PERHAPS, YET THE FW2 2 RUNWAY NONETHELESS INVITES AN ORGANIC HUMAN INTERACTION WITH THE SIMPLE, COMMUNAL ACT OF MOVING THROUGH SPACE TOGETHER. AS THEY SWING BETWEEN SOLITUDE AND COMPANIONSHIP, THE MODELS ALSO BUILD THE SOUNDTRACK— A CRESCENDOING SCORE COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF A DOOR.

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF WOOYOUNGMI

STYLIST ELODIE DAVID – TOUBOUL PRODUCTION DEVI SOK ART DIRECTION FORMATS AND MECHANISMS MUSIC FORMATS AND MECHANISMS HOUSE VIDEO FORMATS AND MECHANISMS BACKSTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY ROBIN JORIS DULLERS PHOTOGRAPHY Luca TOMBOLINI CASTING DIRECTOR JULIA LANGE @ARTISTRY LONDON MAKE UP INGE GROGNARD @MA+WORLD GROUP HAIR GARY GILL @STREETERS

PR AGENCY KCD PARIS