mvio fw 2011/12 by han sang hyuk

MVIO designer Han Sang Hyuk delighted the crowd this season with a 7 foot tall headless model riding a motorized Segway down the runway in a grey checked suit. But even without this shock factor moment, his collection was creative, exciting and pushed the boundaries more than any other show in Seoul Collection this season. Dubbed 'M.I.A.S' (the MVIO Institute of Art & Science) but also known as the 'Apron Collection', it was set to a backdrop of math calculations written upon a giant chalkboard and featured badass science nerds in dark sunglasses wearing all sorts of laboratory aprons, from leather ones to aprons with toggle straps to down-filled park style aprons, my personal favorite being the navy peacoat with a rusty orange apron colored blocked into the front of the jacket. Worn both over & under or even built right into suit jackets & parkas, the aprons served as a sort of metaphor for protection or concealing one's flaws. Elements from Han's previous collections were also seen in the details such as the climbers rope from his 'Mountaineering' collection used for jacket ties & apron strings as well as mini magnifying glasses from his 'Gradation' collection hanging from some of the backpacks.






























































These were the two poor boys who had to wear the mannequin heads!

For more runway looks click HERE.

xoxochadchad

Seoul Fashion Week FW 2011/12 Day 1, 2, 3

Seoul Fashion Week, also known as Seoul Collection is once again under way. I've been ultra busy with rehearsals & early morning hair & makeup calls so I haven't had a chance to post until now, but I wanted to give a quick recap of the first three days.

DAY 1:

I got to the SETEC building around 9am to rehearse for the Jehee Sheen show that afternoon. The choreography was a little confusing, especially trying to use my mediocre Korean listening skills, but from what I've heard from a few people who saw the show, it was pretty impressive. This is a pair of soft, quilted leather shoes from the collection.


After my hair & makeup was done in a very ghostly, white look I went backstage to check out a few of the other rehearsals going on. I met up with Hong Sukwoo, a writer and fashion journalist who was there covering for his blog yourboyhood.com



I also hung out with my friend Noma Han, who just came back to Seoul after walking a good number of shows in New York fashion week. Both of us were rocking the same pair of matte black shades given to us by Resurrection designer Juyoung Lee / 이주영. Noma is way popular in New York right now & is sort of the go-to-guy for fun, quirky photoshoots. He was getting ready for the General Idea show, which he also walked in during New York fashion week. Check out his facebook fan page HERE.


Mustard, navy & red were the main colors seen in the General Idea collection by Bum Suk Choi / 최범석, with a few fun camouflage patterns thrown into the 'camping' theme.


Here is designer Kimseoryong / 김서룡 during the rehearsal for his latest Kimseoryong Homme collection. Deep orange & sky blue were pop colors in this otherwise neutral collection.


D.GNAK Designer Dong Jun Kang (on right) showed his London collection. I loved the red backpacks with the D.GNAK signature shield like the one worn on model Jin Wook Yoon / 윤진욱 below.



Songzio ended the day with a very dark, very cool collection, definitely one of the best of the week. Big hats, wide shoulders & wide pants cinched in tight at the waist with wide elastic belts. My favorite part were these furry muppet gloves.


DAY 2:

Tuesday was an 8am hair & makeup call for the Resurrection show, which was the first on the schedule for the day. Noma & I finally got a chance to work together and we celebrated backstage with a few glasses of sparkling wine right before the runway, sponsored by VOGA. That definitely loosened up the pre-catwalk butterflies a bit.


Jessica from K-pop super girl band 소녀시대 aka Girls Generation also walked in the show with me (she is on the right). All the models boys were freaking out that she was there and were sporting heart eyes (and heart-on's?) every time she came near them.


Beyond Closet by Ko Tae Yong also showed on Tuesday and as always, it was beyond adorable. The 'moving men' theme was played up with the freckled models carrying empty moving boxes down the runway. I was sad not to see that show but I did get a chance to check everyone out backstage.


Down the street at a building called Kring, my friends O-an & James were modeling for Leigh at Generation Next, a segment of SFW that showcases young up and coming designers.


I walked again this season for ALANI by Kim Jae Hwan. And once again his shoes made me all smiles (royal blue!!).


Back at SETEC, Caruso was blurring the lines of masculinity by dressing all the boys in high heels & high heeled boots like this blue pair. I must say they all did a very impressive job of the catwalk, it must have been no easy feat to pull those off & still walk like a pro.

DAY 3:

I rolled up once again at 8am for hair & makeup for the first show of the day, VanHart Homme (formerly known as Fahrenheit Homme). This is a shot of VanHart Homme designer Duyoung Jung / 정두영 with Han Byul Park / 박한별, a Korean entertainer who is also dating K-pop singer SE7EN. She walked the runway in exchange for two of the boys from K-pop band 2AM who backed out for unknown reasons.


Designer Han Sang Hyuk / 한상혁 was the final menswear show with his brand MVIO, who's 'Apron Collection' included a very cute performance with a tall, headless model riding a Segway.


The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the start of womenswear at Kring. The Centaur, a brand that is quite polarized, either you love it or you hate it, opened with a drag performance that was pretty lively. Here one of the models rocks some major braids & an animal print that was featured heavily throughout the last half of the collection.


I also caught up with Korean supermodel & tv host Hyejin Han / 한혜진 who I had first met a few weeks ago when I filmed 'Style Magazine' for OnStyle. She was walking for Steve J & Yoni P who are quite popular in Korea these days. She was quite surprised to see me backstage taking photos as you can see from her look of shock haha.

I'll be posting more of these shows in the next few weeks once I get a chance to organized & edit. Also stay tuned for an update on more of the women's shows which I'm going to later this afternoon.

xoxochadchad