Jaden Cho on Non-objects

“I have been really drawn to the world of interior design and sculpture, and I thought that fashion was a good way to combine these two practices.”

Cho also explains that his decision to start fashion education was sparked by his interest in other forms of visual arts: “I have been really drawn to the world of interior design and sculpture, and I thought that fashion was a good way to combine these two practices. It was very interesting for me to make something with a flexible material that people could wear.” He says that throughout his studies – first as an undergraduate womenswear student at Kookmin University in Seoul and later at Royal College of Art – a personal approach to design transformed from its initial abstract form towards a more practical outlook. “At first, my work was based around creating wearable sculptures,” says Cho, “but as time went by, I became more interested in the functionality and attention to detail while creating my clothes.”

With his graduate RCA collection, Non-Object, Cho focused in his message on redefining the role of a couture designer in today’s landscape. “Stereotypically, ‘couture’ in its traditional form refers to how the garments fit on the individual client, but in my opinion, the contemporary approach to couture is based around making garments with the understanding of a modern woman’s needs and ideas. My goal is to figure out a new made-to-order method, and present their way of life through my collection.”

In his process as a womenswear designer, Jaden Cho thinks about what it means to ‘objectify’ women. “There are a lot of preconceptions in objects. People tend to bestow objects with their own ideas of what they are. I try to use improperly perceived objects to express this paradox,” explains the designer. A big influence on the aim to question this mechanism were the words of the British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, who once said: “I am interested in that part of material, which is not material because it seems to me that equivalent with every history of material, there is a history of immaterial.” Furthermore, Kapoor’s conceptual art works, known for their sleek and elegant forms, became a visual inspiration for the garments, both in terms of the silhouettes and fabrication. A reflective sequined ‘two-piece’ dress paired with a matching bucket hat is one of the most explicit nods to the artist.

“Coming to London to study, I was overcome by the desire to achieve something.”

Cho’s obsession with details can be spotted throughout the collection, whether it’s the tape-lace dress embroidered meticulously with a sea of sequins, a top constructed out of metal frames and acrylic plates, or a jewelled lollipop with a flower-ornamented stem. The collection also opens with one of Cho’s signature designs: a flag dress, this time constructed out of a cherry-printed fabric. “The concept for these dresses came from the idea of ownership. Coming to London to study, I was overcome by the desire to achieve something. What came to my mind then was Neil Armstrong’s flag on the moon – I wanted to put my own flag in Hyde Park in front of the college building,” Cho laughs. “I like to develop my own textiles for each collection, and flag dresses became a way to archive and display them in their simplest and most powerful form. Going forward, ‘Look 00’ for every upcoming collection will be a new take on the flag dress,” says the designer.

Looking in retrospect at his time at the RCA, the designer says that the past two years have been a great opportunity to reflect on his growth. “If I had stayed and worked in Korea, I could have been so easily swallowed up by the industry, but here, I got to question the existing structures of my process. I was able to focus on developing my aesthetic and vision through research, freedom to experiment, and collaborations.”

“I think that the human hand is irreplaceable. Numerous technologies have changed over the years, but pure labour in the hands of people still continues; not only is it effective, but also very environmentally-friendly.”

Through his work, Jaden Cho wants to show that at a time when sustainability is one of the biggest discussion subjects in fashion, couture remains one of the least damaging segments of the industry. “I think that the human hand is irreplaceable. Numerous technologies have changed over the years, but pure labour in the hands of people still continues; not only is it effective, but also very environmentally-friendly. I believe that it’s very important for us as an industry to focus on the resources we already have and look for the most efficient ways of using them.”