For his Rokh Fall/Winter 2021 collection, designer Rok Hwang, born in Seoul, raised in Austin, Texas, now based in London and showing in Paris, delivered a unique point of view combining pragmatic dressing, romance and street edge.
The collection was inspired by the designer’s multi-cultural past : “I have always started each collection by revisiting my memories. This season I began by revisiting the story of Rokh. The multi-cultural nature of my past – having been born in Korea, raised in America, studied and worked in London and Paris – made me who I am. All the random encounters and random identities I’ve possessed have defined my style”, said the Celine, Chloé and Louis Vuitton veteran.
British check bustier tops and free-draped skirts secured with thick leather belts nodded to punk; and the pairing of exquisite white lace gowns, hand-beaded and feather-embroidered over six months, with double-layer, high- and low-waist raw-edged jeans, to Americana. (How cool would it be to get married in that?).
Lingerie details were another through line, on a black knit bodysuit and skirt that shimmied with tiers of fluffy silver fringe, fetish-y leather bra tops used underneath or on top of tailored pieces, and a lime-green silk slip dress with chunky silver chains for shoulder straps. It was almost like something from an underground nightclub in the ’90s.