87MM Spring/Summer 2018 collection review & presentation gallery.

Words Joie Reinstein, Photos Anujin Natsagdorj

87MM was one of the few courageous designers to take us off site this season: out of the DDP and into another futuristic space. Opting for a presentation rather than a show, the brand invited press and guests for 2 separate “showings” of their SS18 collection <Mr. Tired at MytistClub> at the JNB Gallery in the basement of the Horim Art Center. After attendees shuffled in, everyone was obliged to put on white lab coats with the name of the collection emblazoned on the back. Stepping into the glaring white gallery space, this effort to homogenize the crowd made perfect sense. 87MM wanted to eliminate as many distractions as possible to be able to fully appreciate the dystopian ambiance they had carefully curated. Around the gallery, models with curly wigs and scarves wrapped around their heads stood eerily still on little pedestals. This along with plastic skin-like makeup gave them the allure of robotic mannequins rather than humans. There were also “waiters” walking around with shoes on metal trays and cassette players that played nonsensical messages over and over. Every 10 minutes the lights would flash and the models would switch places. It was hands down one of the most creative events at Seoul Fashion Week to date.

The attention to details didn’t stop there though as 87MM gave us one of their best collections yet. It managed to strike a balance between wearable and highly fashion forward which is something menswear brands in Korea sometimes struggle to achieve. It was easy to envision a wide demographic of clientele adopting these pieces into their wardrobe. While it still stayed true to the sportswear plus tailoring aesthetic that 87MM always goes for, this time there was a bit more whimsy and artistry that made its way in. There were loose boiler suits with lapels, baseball shirts with matching jackets, cropped trousers layered under crumpled blazers and tapered joggers made out luxe or printed materials. In fact some of the prints were interesting indeed as what appeared to be knits were actually trompe l’oeil digital prints. Other fun details were pant cuffs that used drawstring for shape and ties were draped over shoulders like scarves. The collection remained in a minimalist range of colors such as off white, black and grey, with just a few touches of cobalt blue. Fabrics were light and functional but unfussy, often slightly wrinkled and slouchy.

All in all, if this is the direction that 87MM is going to continue to explore, its future will be anything but dystopian.