Can doing the dishes be chic? South Korean brand Solid Homme’s spring collection explores the question through a philosophical lens.
Drawing inspiration from the Japanese design concept of “super normal,” the collection reimagines the mundane — such as sweeping the floors or brushing your hair — as fashion moments.
Designer Woo Young Mi and the studio took their cues from the 2007 tome “Super Normal: Sensations of the Ordinary” by Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa. It translated into a light and colorful collection of understated silhouettes and youthful, relaxed utility. Call it elevated extreme normcore.
Woo’s palette was saturated pastels and washed-out neutrals. She went all in on playing with patterns, with some head-to-toe looks of stripe-on-stripe or check-over-check as seen in looks of double-layered polos, or shorts over shorts. Whisper-thin knits of contrasting proportions allowed for little peek-a-boos of print for added depth.
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She also presented plenty of patterned short shorts, which, though daring, had added appeal on a 95-degree day in Paris.
The brand also introduced a new shoe shape this season, a soft and thin-soled trainer in a pastel blue that is a departure from past seasons’ structured leather derbies. The new footwear is made in Portugal. Accessories, too, were in light, soft and slouchier shapes and bags were completed with charms in the shape of everyday items such as a can opener.
For her presentation, Woo revamped her styling team, this season working with Another Magazine editor Jordan Duddy. Models walked around inventive sculptures made from common items, such as a towering spiral of egg cartons, swirls of pasta strainers, and stacks of oil spouts. The installation played on color and made engaging art out of the everyday objects.
Though the brand is over 30 years old, its sales are still mainly centered in Asia. Solid has seen success with its shop-in-shop at Galeries Lafayette and is concentrating on wholesale growth in the U.K. with an eye toward smaller multi-brand and concept stores.
With this season’s fun take on basics, the brand hit the right notes with a price point poised to appeal to the young consumer that wants to play with color.