Starting with the notion that dressing well is a mark of courtesy to others and inspired by a rite-of-passage for young Korean men, buying their first suit — often from her lineup — Woo Young Mi delivered a polished, elevated collection centered on tailoring with youthful sporty touches. The combination aligned with several seasonal trends.
Slimline suits in classic menswear fabrics, shiny silk or tweed had long jackets and hourglass waists, and were adorned with removable appliqué 3D blossoms, a nod to the gesture of offering flowers.
Classic coats in heritage fabrics channeled tradition, but were modernized with the addition of bright shearling lapels. Cropped tailored jackets had a ‘70s feel, highlighting the waist and revealing one of the key elements of the lineup, a panoply of reinterpreted long johns.
These were worked in the collection’s rich color palette of browns, burgundies and forest green, as well as in the seasonal print, a reinterpreted version of traditional “Minhwa” patterns from Korean folk art. The elevated undergarments peeped out of the waistline or highlighted the ankles, styled under rolled-up pants like a backbone for the collection and a show of inner sensitivity.
They were also styled under zip-fronted padded ski pants in satiny burgundy, just one example of how Woo deftly played with extreme sports references this season.
The print, created in-house as a collage of existing paintings, featured as a lining for coats or all over on quilted puffers and ski pants.
Woo played with the sense of juxtaposition in the knitwear too. Floral jacquard motifs were worked into the sweaters, while pieces nodding to après-ski featured graphic stripes. Wool scarves were narrow like ties, suggesting formality, while chunky childlike mittens, attached to a thread and hanging loose from the sleeves, were like the comforters we cling on to once we are grown.
