SEOUL FASHION WEEK FW17: CRES. E DIM.
CRES. E DIM. Fall/Winter 2017 collection review.
Words Joei Reinstein, Media Tam Sum, Seoul Fashion Week
CRES. E DIM. hit it’s stride this FW17 season with a collection that was both evolutionary as well as innovative for the brand. A favorite amongst Kpop Idols and Instagram fashion rebel darlings, the brand seems to be gaining confidence in it’s ability to reinvent streetwear. KIM HONG BEOM started the brand in 2010 and has was recently named one of the top 10 Korean designers by the city of Seoul.
The show itself started out bold with Kraftwerk’s We are the Robots carrying out the season’s theme ROBOT OVERLORDS. But whereas one could think with a name like that we would be greeted with more Tron-wear, out came a collection that we could call AthFarmer. As models trounced down the runway to the heavy beats of Kraftwerk, they were all toting farming and labor equipment such as shovels, wrenches, hoses and hoes. This juxtaposition hinted at a more politically inspired collection that gave a profoundness that was absent in the previous one. This shouldn’t be a surprise as Seoul Fashion Week comes at the tail of a tumultuous moment in Korea. Accessories such as necklaces that said Call for Peace, No More Candlelight (a reference to the candlelight vigils in the recent protests) and banners with lettering draped over shoulders, gave a clear message of wanting to move South Korea into a more positive future.
While still staying true to it’s sweatshirt material, streetwear roots, this season KIM HONG BEOM added workwear tailoring and audacious layering into the mix. The classic crew sweatshirt (which one would think could no longer be possibly reinvented) somehow got some surprising updates such as cutouts, slits and variations of it’s typical shape. Even bombers and parkas got cropped, tailored and re-worked giving new life to these normally "every day pieces". Denim was a major component of this collection with jeans that looked like they were sewn inside out and slit up the sides, revealing the brand’s name in the seam. Touches like this show the brand’s continued dedication to the micro details that matter. In terms of color, they also remained true to their style with their favorite mix of yellow and red (which we saw all over the street this season) but as it was for Fall, it got muted down to a mustard and burgundy. Perhaps one wouldn’t think of putting these colors together but somehow CRES. E DIM. always gets it to work. Other earthy tones such as salmon, forest green and warm browns were prevalent as well as cobalt and sky blue. Finally, one of the most interesting looks was the sweater tube cape (for lack of a better word) that was layered over a coat, making the wearer look ready to face any elements thrown at them. One can be sure that all the cool kids of Seoul will be wanting pieces of this collection as they boldly face their new future.