SEOUL FASHION WEEK FW17: KYE
KYE Fall/Winter 2017 collection review.
Words Joie Reinstein, Media Daisy Tsang, Seoul Fashion Week
KYE (aka Kathleen Kye) a Central Saint Martin’s graduate, is a darling of the Korean Fashion community. After presenting her eye-catching Graffiti prints at Concept Korea at New York Fashion Week a few years back, she was on everyone’s radar. Idols such as CL and G-Dragon are often seen in her clothing and her front row consistently contains the latest K-pop It group. She is known for her outlandish juxtapositions of fabric and color that have firmly rooted her in the Korean Pop Culture vernacular.
The invitation to this season’s show was a dollar bill that said Money Over Everything; the name of the collection. One has to wonder if this is a clever allusion to the political situation in South Korea as money the reason behind many people’s downfall as of late. This tongue and cheek approach to the big bucks was clearly conveyed as there was a vibe of streetwear meets opulence in the collection. Many prints had “Kye Money” bills (which is funny as well, as Kylie Jenner, a wealth queen, names all her products like this too), as well as the use of more luxe fabrics such as crushed velvets, satins and her signature faux fur that has been making it’s way into her pieces for several seasons now. She even took it so far as to adorn the models soles with faux fur: the ultimate in ridiculous luxury as these are shoes that literally serve no purpose as they can’t be worn outdoors. Nice one! A couple of more geometrically constructed dresses and men’s ensembles were the first out of the runway chute, but the collection consisted mainly of separates.
The color palette was gorgeous with flamingo pinks, cherry reds, baby blues, wine and silvers. Irene Kim was representing as she modeled some of the most signature outfits of the collection such as a pant and cropped motorcycle jacket set that was in a silver material that looked like it could be the fur of a muppet crossed with spaceship insulation material. Bell bottom track pants with a big slit up the front dominated in terms of a key item for both men and women. There are definitely some covetable pieces that you will see on an Instagram account near you.