Designer, Nayon Kim, (IG: @official_nayon) told The Fashion List, in an interview at her presentation venue, “For this collection, called ‘Brut Generation‘, I drew inspiration by how young people this day view themselves.” When we asked why everything on display at her presentation was gray, she responded, “There is darkness, but from there comes light…To survive in this world we are living in, we shall embrace the light seeping into the darkness”, hence the gray color theme, which was used virtually throughout the entire collection, a theme seen on several other collections during NYFW this week.
The 26-year-old Korean designer also cited Brutalist architecture & Minimalism as her other inspirations. Brutalism is a style of architecture that is characterized by deliberate plainness but one that also manages to be simple and concise. In short, Brutalism is a minimalist’s dream come true. It was fitting that Nayon shot her look book at the ‘LG Art Center Seoul’ designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando, who sponsored the venue for shoot.
…a refined form of rawness…
Nayon Kim, Designer
The collection itself had a strong gender-neutral tone and took inspiration from the bodies of both genders. This translated into innovative avant-garde designs and elegantly constructed and deconstructed garments. Nayon’s description of “a refined form of rawness” perfectly described the clothes we saw. The tailored layers of construction in these garments were hidden, making them appear at first glance, deceptively “simple”.
Nayon has successfully created a version of armor for her generation of 20-somethings. Like armor, her garments don’t have any closures. Instead, they only have chains to wrap them around the body. There were uniforms such as a perfect turtleneck & trouser that would be right for Uptown or Downtown, that any man or woman would be happy to wear. Another standout was a long-pieced turtleneck gown with asymmetric short, slashed shoulders accessorized with the same industrial chrome chain draped around the body, an edgy take on a beauty pageant contestant’s ribbon.
The collection channeled the side of her design personality that finds inspiration in the iconic tailored suiting of YSL, a designer she reveres, particularly for the work he produced in the 70s. Another designer she admires is Phoebe Philo “for how she expresses minimalism & femininity”. The strong mini collection of 5 outerwear pieces on display was a respectful nod to YSL; the sharp shouldered coats had his flowing proportions but were updated with industrial themed chain belts that wrapped around the body.
Overall, the collection was one that was innovative, and successfully blended elegantly constructed and deconstructed designs into something what the designer called, “refined rawness”. Like other great minimalist designs by the likes of Jil Sander, Giorgio Armani & Calvin Klein in their 90s heyday, the “simple” result is incredibly complicated to execute.
Although Nayon is unquestionably a minimalist, when it comes to the fashion she created for this collection, we were fascinated to learn that she started her fashion career as a stylist for a pop group BLACKPINK. The South Korean girl group is well-known for the elaborate video styling that accompanies every song they release.
Despite now having her own New York based label, Nayon has not abandoned her K-Pop roots, and continues to be the Visual & Stye Director for the hot K-Pop boyband, TNX. It was therefore only fitting that she tapped Khan Jaehun, the buzzy K-Pop Lyricist & Rapper, to model her collection for the look book. Furthermore, she is also the New York correspondent for Harper’s Bazaar Korea and the recipient of the 2021 CFDA Design Scholar Award.
This is a designer to watch.
The collection is priced @ $800.00-$1,500.00.
-Vivian Kelly (@thefashionhistorian)
Presentation Photo Credit: BFA.com / Madison Voelkel
